A Bluebird of Unhappiness
by Rosamanelle
Summary: Elrios. A super-continent that houses several major, flourishing kingdoms, as well as three major races: Humans, elves, and Nasods. When the El of Ruben village is stolen, a fiery redhead and his companions set off to retrieve it, unknowingly throwing themselves in the midst of a scheme bigger than they could ever have thought. Will they ever find a way out? Contains OCs.
1. Chapter 1: A Night to Remember

Chapter 1: A Night to Remember

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In the dead of winter, the small, jovial haven of Ruben was alight with warmth and happiness. The citizens of Ruben were celebrating the birth of a small boy. His cheerful laughter rang out throughout the village, warming the hearts of the villagers. "Welcome to Ruben, Elsword," His mother breathed. His father beamed with pride, wrapping his arms around his daughter. "Elsa, take good care of your brother. You are the oldest, and it falls to you to be a good sister." Elsa nodded, chewing on the end of her crimson braid nervously, excited yet nervous about the birth of her younger brother. However, this small happiness was not meant to last. A cold, bone-chilling wind arose from the very depths of hell, even colder than the worst chills winter could bring. A large, dark crack shattered the earth in two, pure, menacing evil oozing from it, spreading across the cold, barren ground like a plague. It was in the few hours of true darkness that the evil arose, swallowing towns whole and devouring the land at a fearsome pace. Monsters sprung from every place that was once good and pure, overrunning the same havens that kept the elves safe for hundreds and thousands of years. Forced to flee from their homes, the elves took flight, only to be forced back by their brethren that had been turned dark, led by Chloe, who had been corrupted many years before. Very few escaped. Those who did were considered lucky, and were forced to flee to the tallest mountains in hopes of being protected by the great mountain El. Eventually, the dark crept up on the small village of Ruben, but was held at bay by the light of the El shard. Soon, the great evil found the perfect pawn to remove the irritating speck of light.

* * *

Banthus shivered, huddling closer to his small group of bandits. Although he was the leader of his group, which was well-known throughout Elrios, it had diminished greatly when the members figured out that he was the true leader, not his burly older brother. Although he wasn't the most well-built person in the world, he had the smarts that was necessary to lead a group of thieves. He sighed, thinking of his former partner, way back in the day. Luchiel was pretty, quick, smart, and most importantly, understanding and accepting of him. And then she left. She had said that she didn't want to steal anymore, but Banthus knew the real reason. It was because Luchiel hated him. He sighed, deciding to go take a walk to stretch his jittery legs. As he was walking around, a dark shadow suddenly engulfed him. Panicking, he began to flail about, but a soft, delicate voice whispered in his ear. "Don't struggle, Banthus dear." Banthus stiffened. "How do you know my name?!" The voice purred. "Shh. I heard about your predicament, my love..." An ice-cold hand caressed his cheek. He could feel the person's cold breath on his neck, yet he couldn't see the owner of the ghostly breath. "I have a proposition for you, my love." Banthus could feel his will to resist being sucked away by the velvety voice. "I can give you the power and strength you want. All you have to do is help me with a small favor..." Banthus exhaled, thinking of the face Luchiel made every time he got beat up. It was that of disappointment. Opening his eyes, he nodded. "Of course. Tell me what to do." A cold, heavy weight slipped around his neck. Looking down, he saw a heavy, golden, extremely gaudy piece of jewelry. "What's this?" The voice giggled. "It's you power, and a symbol that our agreement has been made. No one knows how long it will take for your power to take root, but until then, cause as much trouble as you can." Banthus nodded, clutching the necklace. "Understood, um..." The voice laughed. "You may call me Brenna."

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**~ 14 YEARS LATER ~**

Elsword sighed, stabbing his sword into the ground. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, he scowled at the darkness that kept trying to creep into Ruben. It was that darkness that had killed his father, and that darkness that had created the sickness that took away his mother. His eyebrows lowered even more as he thought of the day when Elsa left him. She had said that she was just leaving for a short mission and would be back in a few months. "You liar," Elsword whispered. It had been six months since she left. As he picked up his sword again to continue furiously slashing at the training dummy, his eyes widened. The barrier that the El had created was shaking and trembling, before it finally collapsed, the evil darkness spilling into Ruben. Eyes wide, Elsword dashed through the village, yelling at the top of his lungs. "It is coming! The evil has come! The El! Lowe! Haggus! Someone! Anyone!" Lowe, the local knight, stepped out to see what all the ruckus was. Upon seeing the darkness that was quickly spreading, his eyes widened. Fumbling with his pocket, he finally produced a whistle. Blowing into it, the shrill whistle echoed through the town, rapidly sending the people into a crazed panic, as they all made a mad dash for the local tavern. Those who did not make it to the tavern were swallowed up by the darkness, their flesh rotting off of their bones instantly, their bones then turning to a fine dust. Elsword clutched his sword tightly, so tight that his knuckles turned white. "Oh god," his whispered. Luckily, in preparation for when something like this would happen, Chief Haggus had decided to stockpile El shards in the tavern.

Lowe let out a breath of relief. "At least some of us made it to safety." Haggus nodded sadly. "Although at least half of the village was caught int the darkness." His head snapped up. "Someone must have taken our El. Lowe, can you send someone to go retrieve it?" Elsword stomped his foot. "No." Lowe looked up, surprised. "What? You want us to rot here?!" His eyes were cold. Elsword snorted. "No, stupid. I will go get the El myself. You can't spare any full-fledged knights, no?" Lowe exhaled, considering Elsword's idea. "You're too rash," He said decidedly. "Something will go wrong. You aren't full-fledged, albeit skilled, and are much younger and more inexperienced than everyone else. I will go myself." Elsword glared at Lowe. "You are needed to command these knights. I'll go, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Dashing to the back, Elsword plucked a fairly sizable El shard from the pile of glowing shards, quickly dashing over to the tavern kitchen to pack himself a bag. Lowe scowled. "Elsword. Don't be stupid. What will you do if Elsa comes back while you're gone?" Elsword growled. "Elsa's really strong. If she didn't come back by now, then she's in trouble. I'll be the one to go help her." Marching out of the tavern quickly, the light of his El shard protected him from the darkness. "Now let's see... It was probably thieves. What group of thieves would do something as daring as steal an entire El crystal?" He nodded to himself. "Definitely Banthus." As Elsword walked through the forest, he saw the dead creatures and the lumbering shapes in the distance. Warily, he pulled out his sword, hoping that the approaching enemy was something he could deal with.

Quickly sidling behind a tree, Elsword peered out to find a tight circle of strange, tree-like monsters crowding around a fallen girl, who seemed to be passed out. Her purple hair was in a disarray, and she tightly clutched a staff. Or was that a wand? Shrugging his red hair out of his face, Elsword didn't hesitate to rush forward to try to help the strange, passed-out, purple haired girl. Okay, it was more like he just wanted the Ents out of his way. Slashing the nearest in the back, Elsword smacked it heavily in the back, sending it flying into the nearest one. Stabbing the next in the stomach, he slammed the butt of his sword into one that was trying to sneak up behind him. One of the Ents swung out with its arm, landing a solid strike to Elsword's stomach, sending him flying into the air, landing on the ground with a heavy thump. Winded and panting, Elsword managed to slash an Ent, slicing it in half, turning to chop at the next one. Finally giving up ground, the Ents began to be pushed back. Those that weren't completely shredded to fodder by Elsword retreated, running as quickly as possible. Panting, Elsword sat on his knees, looking at the girl he had just saved, almost unwittingly. "Hey..." He poked her cheek. "You alive?" The girl's eyes fluttered open, revealing their greyish purple color. Almost immediately, the girl screamed. "YOU PERVERT!" Sitting up, the girl delivered a firm slap to Elsword's cheek. Holding his cheek, he glared at the girl. "What the heck?! What's wrong with you!?" The girl shrieked again, grabbing her staff/wand and shoving it with all her strength into Elsword's stomach, which was still tender from when it had been hit by the Ent. Doubling over, Elsword began to cough violently. "W-What the hell!" He coughed more, clutching his stomach. "I'm beginning to wish I didn't help you get rid of those Ents!" The girl glared. "You brat! Making excuses to -" Her eyes landed on the destroyed Ents, widening. "Omigosh, you were serious?" Her glare softened. "Sorry for hitting you." She held out her hand. "My name's Aisha. Thanks for helping me."

Elsword glared at her, batting away her hand. "Are you serious?!" He scoffed. Aisha growled, holding out her staff threateningly. "That's no way to talk to a lady! As a proper man, you should always take the lady's interests to heart and introduce yourself promptly!" Elsword scowled. "What lady? All I see is an annoying, flat-chested brat here!" Aisha covered her chest. "You idiot! How old are you?" Elsword shrugged. "Fourteen. Why?" Aisha crowed. "Ha! I'm two years older than you! Respect your elders!" Elsword's eyes widened. "Why are you so short and flat then?" Aisha fumed. "_Excuse_ me? How dare you talk to me like that!" The two of them continued to bicker like that. Finally annoyed with Aisha, Elsword stood up. "Move it, ya damn brat. I've got an El crystal to recover, and I've wasted too much time on you." Aisha's eyes lit up. "I'll help!" Elsword gave her the death glare. "No." Aisha stuck out her tongue. "Well, you're stuck with me anyways. I may not look like it, but I'm an extremely skilled magician who will be able to track the magic of the El crystal you're looking for quickly." Elsword grumbled. "Fine, but you better not bother me." Aisha grinned brightly. "No guarantees."

This is how the legend of the Elgang begins.

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Hello people whom I cannot see! Like the first chapter? HA! I bet you thought I was a bad writer just 'cause I'm a hyper-active, crazy, creepy person who has a thing for bean bag chairs! (I literally have, like, ten of them in my house) Ahem. I guess I'll update when I can... OH! I just had the most intense argument with my dad about whether Chung or Raven was better. (Nothing against Chung or Raven fans, but we just had to argue) It went like this:

Dad: It's definitely Chung. He's got long-range AND close range attacks.

Me: Nu-uh! Raven slices up his enemies faster than Chung ever could.

Dad: Chung's the Prince of Hamel.

Me: Raven's the leader of the Crow Mercenaries, who practically overthrew their government.

Dad: But they got captured and were killed off.

Me: Chung lost his kingdom to monsters. Besides, Raven has a Nasod arm.

Dad: Chung has a Freuturnier and a Destroyer.

Me: Raven's hotter.

Dad: Chung's cuter, and is heartthrob for girls.

Me: Chung is a freaking PIKACHU! Raven is just damn smexy!

Dad: O_o When did this turn to a battle of who's hotter? Obviously I'm the hottest.

My dad is just awesome! Reviews are love! Let's bee good friends, okay~? Love y'all and see you next chapter! Chu ~

~ Rosamanelle


	2. Chapter 2: Meet Rena

It had only been a few days since Aisha joined Elsword in the search for the El, and already the tension began piling up. "No! It's this way, I'm sure!" Elsword glared at her. "You stupid grape! Everyone knows that Banthus hates swampy areas!" Aisha scowled, banging her fists on the stone that was acting as a table. "He's not stupid, you know?! Of course he'll hide where everyone thinks he'll stay away from!" Elsword stood up angrily. "What are you talking about, flat-chested donkey? If he isn't stupid, he'll obviously go where everyone thinks he is because they'll think that he won't hide somewhere obvious!" Aisha folded her arms crossly. "Idiotic monkeys **_do not_** get a say in matters like these!" Elsword growled. "What did you call me, you magical freak?!" Aisha scowled sourly, producing a shining coin from one of her many pockets. "Fine. Let's flip a coin, heads means I win, tails means you lose." Elsword nodded, not fully realizing the meaning of what she had just said. Flipping the coin, it landed on the ground with a soft thump. "Heads, I win. Now c'mon, let's go down towards the swamps and check there." Elsword sighed in defeat, grumbling about 'stupid coins' and 'flat-chested grapes,' earning him a nasty look from Aisha. As they picked their way down towards the marshy, grey, decaying swamps below, a light drizzle pattered on the ground. "It's just some light rain. Let's keep going." Aisha sighed, looking up. "Elsword, we might want to run for cover now." Elsword turned to look at her, confused. "Why? It's just rain." Aisha picked up her pace, heading towards a nearby cave in the cliff side. "Rain that comes down with no El to purify it is general acid. Unless you want your face melted off, move it!" With that, she dashed over to the cliff, followed quickly by Elsword. He scowled. "You should have said something about that earlier, you dried up raisin!" Aisha scoffed. "Raisins are already dry, brat! Be thankful I told you _something_." Elsword scowled. "In all of my fourteen years, I have never, _ever_ seen someone so -" Before he could finish, a voice cleared their throat behind the two bickering companions. "Excuse me, but could you please stop bickering? It is quite irritating." Spinning around to see who was speaking, Elsword and Aisha came face-to-face with an elf.

The elf giggled quietly, her emerald-green eyes glittering in the faint light coming from outside of the cave. Removing her hood, long, blond hair tumbled out, falling messily to frame her face. Elsword blushed slightly. "W-Who are you?" The elf giggled again. "Hmm, I wonder~" Aisha flushed, embarrassed that she didn't notice the elf's presence earlier. "Miss, he asked you a question. Who are you?" The elf's eyes lit up. "Oh, a magician! It's been a while since I last saw one. Maybe a decade or two?" The elf continued to muse to herself. Elsword sighed, running his hand through his hair out of frustration. "No seriously, who are you?" Aisha scowled at him. "She's obviously not going to tell us." Suddenly, Aisha's face lit up. She grinned at the elf. "My name's Aisha. This idiot over here is Elsword. And who might you be?" The elf flashed a brilliant smile. "My name's Rena. Just another person hiding from the acidic rain, like you two probably are. Tell me, do you happen to be looking for the stolen El?" Elsword nodded vigorously at Rena. "We are! Do you know where Banthus is?" Rena sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I have a pretty good idea of where to start looking, though." Aisha raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking for the stolen El, anyways?" Rena smiled sadly. "My people were forced out of our homes when the Great Evil first came. Many were slaughtered while we fled." Her eyes darkened at the memory, a small, barely noticeable shiver running down her back. "We had to escape, coming all the way down to the mountains that are on the border of Ruben." Aisha glanced at the tall, misty peaks of the Heavenly Mountains, the name of the mountains that seemed to extend to the heavens above. Speaking again, Rena continued her story, a slight grimace plastered on her face. "When the El was stolen, my people barely survived the second attack. However, if we do not retrieve the El soon, everyone _will_ die." Looking up, Rena grinned brightly, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Which is why the sent one of their best to find the El and bring it back to Ruben."

Elsword rubbed the back of his head, barely registering that the rain was beginning to slow down. "I guess you could come with us to help look for the El..." Aisha scowled. "What?! It took me a _lot_ of pestering just for you to say 'Okay Aisha, you can come help me find the El,' and she doesn't even have to ask you!" Elsword groaned. "Rena is a lot nicer than you are. Besides, I had to save your purple buttocks otherwise you would've been dead!" Aisha fumed, her face turning a deep scarlet. "Excuse me? What about yesterday, when you almost got clobbered by that Phoru who was carrying a hundred-pound rock? Or the day before, where you tripped and fell into a trap and then I had to teleport both of us out?" Elsword scoffed. "You were the one who pushed me into the rock that made me trip! And for your information, I -" Rena stood up, slamming her bow into the side of the cave. "ENOUGH!" Both Aisha and Elsword looked up at Rena, stunned into silence. Rena fumed, a dark aura building around her. Eyes glinting dangerously, Rena began to roar with anger. "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO BE PATIENT AND WAIT FOR YOU TWO TO STOP BICKERING, BUT THAT OBVIOUSLY WON'T HAPPEN! IF BOTH OF YOU WON'T AGREE ON SOMETHING, THEN SHUT UP, WILL YOU?!" Aisha trembled. "Y-Yes ma'am." Elsword nodded quietly. Rena huffed. "Ah, now look what you did. You made me get mad~" She winked. "You two are quite the cute couple, though." Elsword jumped to his feet. "What?! We're not a freaking couple, you cow!" Aisha face-palmed. "Wrong move, Elsword. Wrong move." The cave then proceeded to explode into flames, causing both Elsword and Aisha to freak out, seeing that the flames were coming from Rena. Simultaneously, Rena immediately grabbed her bow and started firing arrows rapidly at Elsword. Just another typical day in Ruben forest~

After the pandemonium settled down and a long lecture on respecting your elders and being friends, they trio began to travel again. Upon Rena's suggestion, they decided to investigate a suspicious cave named Banthus's cave (Aisha had to admit her own stupidity by not deciding to check there, also seeing that the cave was clearly labelled on the map). Skipping cheerily down the trail, Rena paused every now and then to give her companions a jovial smile. Aisha sighed, looking up at the dark sky, clutching her El shard carefully. "It's so gloomy..." An arrow whizzed past her head, hitting it's target with a thud. Without even bothering to look, Aisha swung her staff out, smacking a ghost magician straight in the head, sending it flying backwards. "I hate these things," she muttered. Swinging around with his sword in his hand, Elsword sighed. "Aw, it's just more ghost magicians and Ents... When will the bandits actually show up?" Aisha hit him over the head with her staff. "Idiot! You aren't supposed to be itching for a fight!" A flurry of arrows zoomed past the arguing pair. Rena smiled while spinning gracefully to dodge an Ent's wide, swinging attack, kicking it squarely in the trunk. "You two can flirt with each other later. For now, we need to take care of these guys." Aisha's eyes widened. "We're not flirting!" Pointing her staff directly at a cluster of ghost magicians, she chanted some mystical language, and, as her staff began to glow, released a huge burst of fire, sending it straight at the monsters, burning them to a crisp. Elsword dropped to the ground, rolling past an enemy and, upon standing up, slashed at it's back viciously, turning to chop downwards at the next one. "Duck!" Elsword barely managed to raise his sword in time as an enormous, pulsing fireball flew in his direction, being deflected neatly off of his blade and hitting one of the Ents. Rena riddled the remaining monsters with arrows while Aisha methodically smashed them over the head with her staff. Elsword shuddered, recalling the heavy weight behind her staff. Grinning happily, Rena trotted over to one of the monsters and bent over, picking up a glowing El shard. "Eh~ I didn't realize that monsters carried El too." She turned to Aisha and Elsword, her grin widening. "We're getting close to the El. After all, how can monsters obtain El shards without a main El for them to come from?" Elsword nodded, hefting his sword. "Dibbs on Banthus." Aisha rolled her eyes. "Elsword, you can't just call Banthus." He scoffed. "I'm going to end up beating him up anyways." Rena laughed, her musical laugh being carried away with the wind. "Well then, I think we should start planning our attack then, shall we?" Elsword scoffed. "We don't need an attack plan, so long as I get to beat Banthus." Rena giggled. "Let's have one just in case." Aisha rolled her eyes, muttering to herself.

Unknown to the three, somewhat happy travelers, a dark shadow was watching them every step of the way.

* * *

Yay! I actually managed to update today, despite drowning in homework! I actually didn't know what else to put in this chapter besides Elsword & Aisha meeting Rena. BUT! I did have an idea for another fanfic! However, since I suck at writing multiple fanfics at a time, it probably won't be written until much, much later. But hey, give me credit for thinking of an idea! My friend was quoting Shakespeare all day, and now I have some lines stuck in my head. _Romeo, Romeo, wherefore_ _art thou, Romeo? 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy. To be or not to be, that is the question. What light through yonder window breaks _etc. Aaand I just switched from Romeo and Juliet to Hamlet. Y'know, there are a couple of trends in Shakespearean plays. Look at this:

Romeo and Juliet: Romeo and Juliet died.

Hamlet: Heck, everyone died, but so did Hamlet.

Julius Caesar: _Et tu, Brute?_ Julius Caesar, dead.

Othello: No one really knows about this one, but he died.

Henry VI: He died.

Macbeth: Do I need to say anything? Dead.

See the trend? If the name of a character is in a William Shakespeare play, they're dead by the end of the play. Just to prove my point:

Much Ado About Nothing: A faked death, still living and breathing, though (It also contains religious object being thrown around)

A Midsummer's Night Dream: Nope, just a donkey-headed guy who's got the FREAKIN' QUEEN OF FAIRIES in love with him.

The Taming of the Shrew: No one died. No one.

Any questions? I THINK NOT! Random fun fact of the day: Did you know that wherever you go, there's at lest one spider three feet away from you? O_o; I'm not scared of spiders, but that still creeped me out. AND! An average human will eat around 10 spiders in their lifetime! 10 FREAKIN' SPIDERS! *shivers* I don't like bugs, people. I'm not scared of them, I just don't like them. Anyway, see you next chapter! Love y'all! Chu~

~ Rosamanelle


	3. Chapter 3: The Forbidden Reaper

Elsword sighed, trudging through the slimy mud. It had rained only for a few minutes, but since the rain was so acidic and poisoned, dirt turned into mud at a record speed. Aisha was surprisingly quiet, and, glancing at Rena, he saw her usual bright smile. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his head. "Y'know, the plan we ended up coming up with? It sucks." Aisha glared at him. "Let's see you do any better." Elsword scowled. "Shut up, Aisha. I'm not in the mood to argue with you." Rena grinned, a smile plastered on her face. Dashing - no, skipping happily - towards a cliff-side, Rena brushed a not-so-thick tangle of sickly yellow vines aside, revealing a narrow cavern entrance that reeked of decay. Wrinkling her nose, Aisha examined the opening. "It should be okay to walk through this..." She muttered. Elsword grimaced, leaning on his sword. "Can you hurry up already? I want to go send Banthus all the way back to his petty home." Aisha scowled, while Rena just sighed softly, her smile softening. "Everyone is anxious to get back the El. Relax, okay~?" Elsword sighed. "I guess..." Scratching her head awkwardly, Aisha marched past the two of them, entering the dark tunnel before turning around to look at them. "You guys coming?" Rena smiled. "Aisha, you seem very eager to get going~" Aisha snorted. "Of course I'm eager. Believe me, I just want to get the El back and be done with it!" Elsword glared at her. "You didn't have to come with us in the first place..." He muttered. Aisha shot him a nasty look. "Well _excuse _me for trying to be helpful to you. If you need any help next time, go find someone else!" Before Elsword could open his mouth to argue, they were both shut up by a sharp, forced smile from Rena. "Now, now. Let's calm down a little,_ shall we?_" The emphasize that Rena put on the last two words was enough to keep them quiet until about halfway through the cave.

Elsword looked around. The walls of the cave were dripping with water, a few spots of light coming from lanterns that had been set up throughout the caves. Although the air was dank and heavy with dust, it was eerily silent. "Where are all the enemies?" Aisha whispered nervously, as if at even the slightest of noises monsters would come crawling out of the walls and attack them. Rena shrugged, her ever-lasting smile beginning to fade. "There should've been at least one or two of them standing guard somewhere..." Elsword drank from a skin of water, wiping the remaining drops off of his mouth. "Something isn't right about this..." He stared at the door up ahead. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Rena nodded, smiling gently. "Everyone has a bad feeling about this, Elsword. You're just feeling it more than others." Aisha sighed, rubbing her head, staring at the door as well. "When we go through, be ready for anything." Elsword and Rena nodded, and silently trudged up to the door, turning the handle and opening it. There was no way anyone could have been prepared for what happened next. Through the door, there was row upon row of monsters, with a gigantic pile of golden coins, crowns, gemstones, and precious metals piled in the center, a ratty velvet-covered chair, a mock king's throne, sitting in front of it. Once the monsters saw the three travelers, their eyes darkened. "Shit," Aisha said. Rena gave her a sharp look. "That isn't very polite, Aisha... I guess I shouldn't be lecturing you now, huh?" In a flash, her bow was out, arrows soaring into the hoard of monsters, piercing the first couple in the head. With a burst of fire, an entire row was blown away. Elsword grimaced, slashing down any enemies that came his way arrows riddling the ones he couldn't see. "One down, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two to go," he muttered, cutting down another monster that stormed his way. The small group was beginning to get surrounded, when a stroke of genius hit Rena. "Aisha, Elsword! Follow me!" Leaping through the air, Rena kicked the heads of the nearest monsters, slamming into others, while sending a fan of arrows into even more of them. Jumping as far as she could, Rena landed on a particularly large monster's head, using it as a stepping stone to continue her path of flight, finally coming to a rest on the pile of golden treasure. She waved to Aisha and Elsword. "Come here~" Aisha sighed, releasing a consecutive chain of fiery bursts. "What's wrong with her?" Elsword shrugged as best he could while avoiding punches. "No clue."

Aisha grabbed Elsword's hand. "WHAT'RE YOU DOING, IDIOT?! THIS IS THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLEFIELD!" Aisha rolled her eyes and ignored Elsword's complaints, quickly teleporting to the top of the pile, both of them landing next to Rena. She smiled happily while nocking her bow, drawing it back and shooting a few monsters in the head. "You two are so cute, flirting in the middle of a battlefield~" Aisha blushed furiously. "We WERE NOT flirting, Rena! But why did we have to come here...?" Rena grinned, taking out more monsters as she spoke. "They aren't touching this pile of gold. Which means..." Aisha's eyes lit up, understanding what Rena was saying, blasting a small group of enemies with fire. Elsword scowled. "Which means what, Rena? So what if they don't touch the gold pile..." His mouth formed a silent 'o' as he understood, slashing down an enemy that ventured too close to the golden mountain. With their attacks now being backed by a seemingly untouchable spot, the gigantic hoard of monsters slowly dwindled. Slicing the last one in half, Elsword panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "Jeez... I'm glad that's over." Rena giggled, taking a sip from a water skin. "It might be over, but where's Banthus?" As if on cue, a voice chuckled. "Hmm... One washing board, one brat, and one cow, huh?" Rena's smile grew cold. "Did you just call me a cow?" Elsword scowled. "Banthus." Banthus stepped out of the shadows, seeming to materialize from the darkness. Around his neck was a thick, golden chain with a battered-up, tasteless piece of gold hanging from it. A scar ran down one side of his face, half-covered by sandy brown hair. Large, bulging muscles rippled all along his arms, a huge, thick, cheap-looking steel sword in one of his hands. The strangest thing was a small bluebird was perched on his shoulder, chattering cheerily. Aisha stared at the bird. "A bluebird... The symbol of happiness..." Banthus smirked, seeing that Aisha was eyeing the bird. "A bluebird of happiness? No, a bluebird of unhappiness. Now prepare to die." With swing of his heavy sword, Aisha was sent flying through the air, crashing into the pile of gold. Standing up, she swiped at the small cut on her cheek before raising her staff, energy swirling around her. "Rena, Elbaka. Please distract him for now." Rena nodded, aiming carefully before letting a torrent of arrows fly free, sailing towards Banthus without letting a single one hit Elsword, who was desperately exchanging blows with Banthus. The bird on his shoulder chirped cheerily, before it's feathers turned ebony, the cheery tune it was singing turning morbid and frightening. Taking flight, the bird suddenly grew larger and larger, until it stood at the same height as a human. Screeching, the monstrous bird advanced on Rena, who scrambled back in fright, slipping on the coins beneath her feet.

Elsword barely had any time to acknowledge the monstrous bird existed. Dodge, roll, kick, leap back, slice, parry, cut. A continuous pattern formed, and Elsword was beginning to get desperate, hoping to break it. Banthus grinned, his muscles rippling as he put all of his power into a single slice. Eyes wide, Elsword only barely managed to leap out-of-the-way, his sword flashing out and cutting Banthus slightly. Banthus growled. "You can't defeat me, brat." Elsword's eyes narrowed. "We'll see about that!" Again, he swung his sword at Banthus. Prepared, Banthus blocked the attack, sliding down Elsword's blade, hand outstretched, ready to grab Elsword's throat. Letting out a small, _very _manly squeak, Elsword yanked his sword away, touching the chain around his neck. From somewhere behind him, Elsword heard the giant bird caw in pain. "The necklace!" Aisha yelled. "It's his source of power!" Fixing his eyes on the gaudy chain, Elsword grinned. "This'll be easier."

Rena leapt backwards, avoiding a peck from the monster bird. She grinned. "Hey now, I'm an elf. I hate killing wildlife. Can you stop?" The bird ignored her, flapping it's wings, creating a huge gust of wind. Rena sighed, her smile fading slightly. "Elders, please forgive me..." She nocked an arrow calmly drawing it back as far as she could. The arrow pulsed, glowing with a red light, golden sparkles oozing from it. Releasing the arrow, it spiraled through the air at a lightening-fast speed, hitting the great, black bird in the chest. It screeched in pain, a dark, foul-smelling mist spilling from the wound. Aisha wrinkled her nose. "Rena, move it!" Hitting the ground, an enormous tangle of fire and lightening flashed out, searing the bird, allowing more mist to escape. Rena coughed, covering her mouth and nose. "I wouldn't want to breathe this stuff," she shouted to Aisha. "It's poisonous!" A loud clang drew her attention. Elsword grinned smugly, a hand over his mouth and nose, Banthus looking at him in pure anger. His necklace lay on the ground, broken and battered beyond repair. The bird shrieked, shrinking very rapidly, a thick, black liquid, presumably black blood, spurting from its wounds, as it exploded in a bundle of dust and feathers. Banthus roared in anger. "How DARE you destroy my necklace?!" As he was about to swing his sword, a bone-chilling voice stopped him. "Banthus..." It said. He froze. "M-Mistress Brenna..." He gulped. "I-It was a mistake! It will never happen again, I swear!" Shadows gathered in front of Banthus, a woman materializing from their midst. Her black hair was pinned back in a half-bun, a blue pin holding stray hairs back. She wore a lacy black dress that swayed in an invisible breeze, her dark eyes almost permanently stuck in a sharp, cold glare. On her lace-clad shoulder was a small bluebird, much like the one that was on Banthus's shoulder, and in her hand was a dark fan. She opened the fan with a flick of her wrist, smirking coldly. "Banthus, we had a deal, did we not? You would aid me in exchange for power. That necklace was you power." Closing the fan, she pointed it at the necklace. "You knew that taking that necklace off meant death. Any last words?" Before Banthus could even open his mouth, the woman, Brenna, snapped her fingers. A magic circle appeared on the ground, and, with a great show of evil magic spewing from it, a creature that was best described as a cross between a Phoru and a Grim Reaper appeared, wielding its giant scythe like it was nothing, red eyes glinting with hatred. Brenna smirked mercilessly. "Good night." In a flash, the Grim Phoru Reaper thinggie - neither Aisha nor Rena nor Elsword knew what it was - appeared in front of Banthus, slicing him in half with one, clean-cut. She sighed. "I see some witnesses." Waving her hand almost regally, the Reaper bowed before her. "Leave no witnesses. _He_ will not be pleased if someone knows of our plot. Do not worry about the El, it has already been secured." Spinning on her heel, Brenna disappeared into the shadows, melting away without a trace. Leaving Rena, Aisha, and Elsword to deal with the Reaper.

Leaping out-of-the-way, Rena tried to guard herself from the furious attacks the Reaper was landing. Although it was three-to-one, the Reaper was winning. By a wide margin. Aisha blasted fire at it, hurled rocks of all sizes, even struck it with lightening, but nothing seemed to work. Elsword could only barely slash at it, and even with Rena shooting volley after volley of arrows, the Reaper easily blocked all of their attacks, even allowing Rena to riddle it with holes a few times to demonstrate its healing ability. A glint of steel, and Elsword felt pain rip through his arm. Glancing at his arm, he saw a huge, gaping cut stretching from his elbow to his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he swung the sword again. "What the hell is its weakness?!" He shouted, growling in frustration as it blocked his attack yet again. Rena panted, her smile gone. "I have no idea." Aisha scowled, conjuring another blast of fire to hurl at it. "How will we be able to stop it?!" That's when Elsword caught glimpse of it. Impossibly round and smooth-looking, a small, faintly glowing orb, with a strange rune carved into it, between the Reaper's glowing red eyes. "I found it," he whispered. Leaping back to avoid a swing, he began to yell excitedly. "I found it! The weakness!" Aisha's eyes lit up. "Where?!" Elsword ducked under the blade, slicing upwards in a desperate attempt to get to the orb. "In between its eyes! There's an orb there!" Rena grinned. "That must be the core," she said, notching an arrow and aiming straight between its eyes. "Keep it still for a moment or two, 'kay?" Elsword and Aisha nodded. Reaching out with her hands, Aisha let loose a torrent of magical chains, binding its feet - err, that is, body, because it had no feet - to the ground. Swinging his sword up with all of his remaining strength, Elsword knocked the blade out of the Reaper's hand, sending it flying across the cave. Letting her arrow loose, Rena held her breath as she saw the Reaper begin to struggle. Flying straight and true, it hit it's target dead-on. With an ominous cracking noise, the orb shattered, and the Reaper's eyes went dull. Disappearing in a puff of smoke, a glowing El shard fell from where the Reaper once was. Picking it up incredulously, Aisha turned it over in her hands. "It's a light El shard. How could it have been used to create that monster...?" Rena shook her head. "I don't know." Slowly, the three of them trudged out of the cave, Rena wrapping Elsword's arm while Aisha treated her own cuts and scrapes. Although no one had broken anything, Elsword had several enormous cuts and bruises, Aisha had a few bruised ribs and a sprained ankle, and Rena had a particularly nasty cut on her side. Emerging from the cave, they blinked in the harsh daylight as they entered Elder.

Hoffman was sitting at his desk, reading over files when Luchiel came in. "Hoffman," she said, a slight warning edge in her voice. He looked up, smiling at the orange-haired girl. "Luchiel. What is it?" Her eyes darkened. "There are some very battered up travelers outside. From Ruben. With news of the stolen El." Standing up almost immediately, Hoffman hurried over to where the three travelers were sitting, just in time to hear a few snippets of their conversation. "- I said that it wasn't Banthus in the first place!" Elsword scowled. "What're you talking about? Anyway, shouldn't you be bowing down to me 'cause _I_ found the weakness?" Aisha scoffed at him. "Elbaka, respect your elders!" Elsword glared at her. "Shut up, you grape!" Rena sighed, smiling when she saw Hoffman. "Ah, hello sir~ You must be Hoffman, right?" Hoffman nodded. "I heard about your... predicament with the El stone. Mind telling me what happened?" Rena took charge of filling him in. "We also ran into some... magician of a sort, I guess you could say, who wielded evil powers." Aisha nodded. "She used some sort of magic to convert a light El shard into a source of evil powers." Rena grimaced. "Not only that, but she controlled Forbidden Reapers, albeit incomplete. Those haven't been seen in centuries in Elrios - or anywhere else, for that matter." Hoffman furrowed his eyebrows. "I will have to look into this 'dark magician' more... However, you are welcome to stay in Elder while we do some background research." Elsword shrugged. "Thanks, Hoffman." Hoffman smiled kindly. "It's the least I can do for someone who is so selflessly searching for the El."

* * *

After a long day of teachers lecturing us on why we should not wear spaghetti straps in schools, answering stupid math questions, dying in gym, drawing corners, and being called Moo-Moo the Werecat, I have finally been able to post this chapter! It should've been out yesterday, but I got lazy and didn't finish it. Sorry~

So, I'm SO HAPPY that I've gotten reviews! Yay! A BIG thanks to anyone who reviewed including (this is off the top of my head so sorry if I forgot you): RubyCrusade, IssigelYin, FANGee, Hospes, YuYuYu, and Kat Neko983!

Eh, I suck at character deaths, so no one will die in this story! Probably... :) And just so you know, this story will not be following the original Elsword story line (No duh, me)

Elsword: Why am I really annoying? And have so few fight scenes? I also didn't know that I was really observant...

Me: O_o;; When did you get here?! I thought you were still stuck in the computer...

Elsword: *Looks around* Oh yeah, this isn't Elrios. Whoops :)

Me: This is kinda cool... HALLELUJAH I HAVE AN ELSWORD! *dramatic 'you got an item' music from legend of zelda*

Elsword: ...Okay? Are you high?

Me: No way Jose! I'm always like this ^^

Elsword: Dear El what have I gotten myself into? At least Aisha isn't here...

Me: Just you wait... hehehehehehe...

Elsword: DAMMIT I SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID ANYTHING! OTL

Me: Anyway, R&R please! Love y'all! Chu~

Elsword: What the heck is that?

Me: *hits Elsword over the head with a chair* DON'T JUDGE ME! DX

Love y'all! Chu~

~ Rosamanelle


	4. Chapter 4: Elder

Elsword leaned back against his chair, staring, absent-minded, into a cheery, bright fire. Oh, how different was that fire from what they had faced while looking for the El, so full of light and... happy. Outside, Aisha was reading a book on magical principles in the fading light, while Rena was busy in town doing... something, no one was really sure. It wasn't a particularly eventful day, if you forgot the fact that the El crystal had trembled and shuddered several times, sending everyone into a panic. The El soon steadied itself, but now was being watched more carefully than ever before. No one in Elder wanted to die like the people in Ruben did. Elsword sighed, staring at the fire yet again. "I think I'm too weak to complete this mission on my own..." He muttered to no one in particular. Aisha, however, despite having a SOLID BRICK WALL separating them, SOMEHOW overheard him. There was so no way that she had stopped reading her book, used magic to heighten her hearing, and started eavesdropping. Definitely no way. Elsword sighed again. Aisha was beginning to wonder if he had depression since he kept sighing. "Elsa... If you were here, you would've been able to save the El stone by now... I'm too weak to take on this task. Heck, even that dumb grape stronger than me! I could understand Rena, but not her..." Okay, that got her. She stormed over to the door, flinging it open. "ELSWORD!" He looked up, startled. "Oh. It's just you. What is it, you stupid grape?" Suddenly, a book hit him, smack in the middle of his forehead, leaving a bright read mark behind. Standing up, looking very irritated, his pointed his trusty sword at her. "What the hell was that for?!" She scoffed. "Like you don't know, Elbaka! You keep saying that you're weak, and then you call me stronger than you?! What the hell is wrong with you?" Elsword blinked. "Wha...?" Before he could even form a proper sentence, she huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Listen to you! What the hell happened to the annoying brat who kept telling me that I was a pitiful, weak grape that he could step on at any moment!" Elsword blinked. "I never called you that. Grape, definitely, weak, yes, pitiful, probably, but I never said that I could step on you at any moment. You're strong. Anyway, why are you getting mad at me for saying that I'm weak?" She blinked. Why _was _she getting mad over something like that? She sighed, glaring at Elsword. "If you keep calling yourself weak, then you're going to die. This journey isn't a walk in the park, bub." Slightly confused and annoyed, Aisha stomped loudly up to her room, slamming her door with enough force so that he hopefully heard the door slam shut. Elsword just sighed, sitting back down. "Girls..."

Rena was sitting on a chair, looking at an alchemist mix colorful substances in various sized beakers. The alchemist was fairly young-looking, with bronzed skin, sharp green eyes, and silver hair that what held back messily by a pair of goggles. She was sucking on a lollipop, clearly absorbed in her work. "How much longer will it take to make it?" Rena asked, twirling a few golden strands of hair around her finger. Echo, the alchemist, looked up. "Oh dear, you were still here?" Rena nodded. "Will it be finished soon?" Echo shook her head. "It'll take Echo another day or two to finish, okay? Come back tomorrow, Echo promises that Echo'll have it ready by then." Rena nodded, standing up. "How much should I pay you?" Echo shook her head. "Echo doesn't need money from you. Look, if you can be patient, and maybe get Echo another lollipop, then we'll be even." Rena nodded. "I'll give you your lollipop tomorrow, then." Exiting the small store, she looked around the town square. A woman in red and white was busy egging on to start-up her training course or compete in arenas, but wasn't doing very well. Hoffman was sitting in his shop, as usual, handing out goods in exchange for shining coins. Sighing, Rena strolled down a street, walking past a blacksmith, who was pounding a piece of glowing metal into the ground. Idly, she wandered around, not even noticing that she had come back to the blacksmith's and was staring at the glowing, red-hot metal, as he slowly shaped it. The blacksmith looked up. "Yo, little Miss Elf! You want something?" Startled, she looked up. "Erm, uh, well actually... Yes, I would like to buy something." Leaning in, she whispered into the blacksmith's ear. He grinned. "Ah, that'll be easy, little miss. It'll be done in a half-hour. Only costs 20,000 ED." She nodded, and fished out the money from her bandolier. "Here," she said, pushing the money at him. The blacksmith laughed. "You can keep that until it's actually made. Just to see if it's to your satisfaction. Although it'll definitely be more than satisfactory." Nodding, Rena put the money back. "I'll be back in a half-hour," she said. "There's something I need to do right now." The blacksmith nodded. "No worries, it'll be a fine piece of work once it's done." Rena nodded, weaving her way through the crowd to go search for some new clothing, hers - alongside everyone else's - had been completely torn up in their previous fights.

Aisha was sitting in her room, reading, when a knock on her door interrupted her. "Coming!" Opening the door, she saw a man with slightly graying hair standing in front of her. "Letter for Aisha. Would that be you?" Aisha nodded, reaching out to accept the creme-colored envelope. The man sighed, dropped the envelope, and disappeared in a flash. Aisha scowled. "Damn teleporting mailmen... Always so rude..." Picking up the envelope and re-entering her room, she sat down and tore it open. A pendant slipped out of the envelope and fell to the floor, but Aisha ignored it and begun to read the letter. It was from her mentor, who was mostly babbling about what life was like back in her home country. A few lines in particular caught her eye. Breathing heavily, she whispered the lines aloud. "'_...and, my dear Aisha, I have included inside a pendant, which you must have already seen. This pendant will react to your magical powers, and will let you know when you get closer to that horrid ring. Use it wisely, my dear. I hope you will be able to succeed in your mission._'" Picking up the pendant with a new form of curiosity, Aisha turned it over in her hands. It was fairly small, a round, purple gemstone set against a silver backing, a thin yet strong-looking silver chain attached with a silver clasp at the back. Upon closer inspection, Aisha saw that the entire gemstone was covered in finely etched runes, making it look like it was rippling in the fading sunlight. Aisha sighed. "I don't see how this is a magical reactor at all," she grumbled. "Aren't those runes the runes of longevity, fire, strength, and time? How will this be able to detect my magical powers?" Burying her face in a pillow, Aisha mentally punched her mentor in the face. "I bet you he gave me the wrong one. Typical." Slowly drifting off to sleep, she was awake long enough to see Rena come in, a pile of light purple and white clothing in her hands, a thin, long object wrapped in a black cloth that looked suspiciously like a scarf sitting on top. Rena deposited the clothing on the ground, and walked over to Aisha and pulled the blankets over her, moving the letter from her mentor and the pendant to the dresser. Picking up the black covered package, Rena left quietly, but not before Aisha saw a gleam escape the package. _A new bow, perhaps?_ Aisha thought groggily, as she quickly dozed off. _I'll have to thank Rena for the clothes later... _

Almost all of Elder was asleep. That is, _almost_ all of Elder. Elsword was still up, alongside Hoffman. "Are you sure you want this?" Hoffman asked. Elsword nodded, a determined look on his face. "I am definitely sure." Glancing at Elsword nervously, Hoffman pulled a slightly dusty map out of one of the many chests that littered the room, handing it to him. "Here it is. Follow this map, and you will find what you seek." He sighed. "Please be careful, though... Your sister, Elsa, was a kind soul... She would be devastated if you were to die..." Elsword nodded again, grim determination painted across his face. "I won't die. I will never let it happen." Hoffman closed his eyes. "I understand. Come back alive, Elsword. Many people would be devastated if you did not." Elsword grimaced. "Who would care? Both my mother and my father are dead, and my sister is missing. Just who would care?" Hoffman folded his arms. "I can name at least two." Elsword let out a shaky breath. "...You won't need to tell them that I died. Because I'll be coming back in one piece." Hoffman nodded, watching as Elsword marched out the door, sword hefted on his shoulder. "Good luck Elsword, and may good fortune be with you." He shuddered. "You'll need it."

Brenna sat on the ground of a black cave. She was playing with a shimmering pile of El shards of every color and type. Idly drawing a circle on the ground in white chalk, she placed one shard inside it and began to chant. Her hair was lifted by an invisible breeze, dark etchings magically appearing across her pale skin, her dark eyes going completely black. Everything about her seemed more ominous, and when she spoke, it sounded like three of herself was speaking at the same time. _"O master of shadows, bring forth thy power. Of the trees of the earth, of the winds of the sky. O mistress of the hearth, hear my meek prayer and answer my hope. I, your humble servant, hath brought forth thy ally, and hath cut down thy enemy. I speak only of the truth, and seek only from thee the trust that thou shalt bestow on me. For 'tis a lonesome thing to be alone in the grand world. Bestow upon me one who will empower the dark more, and who will obey thyself like I do." _A dark, whirling aura surrounded the El shard, drawing it up withing the whirlwind, but it remained confined in the white chalk circle. Petting a bluebird absently, Brenna watched as the El shard suddenly expanded, turning jet black. Without a warning, she chucked the bluebird in, sighing. "Emanuel. I need more Phoru." A very plain-looking man bowed deeply, exiting the cave quite silently. Brenna snapped her fingers, and another bluebird flew down and settled itself on her shoulder. The bluebird she had thrown into the whirlwind was now stuck, flapping it's wings in a futile attempt to escape. The El shard suddenly exploded, piercing the bird's wings, causing it to fall to the ground. Red blood flowed out, yet all of this was contained in the circle. Electricity crackled through the air, striking the dying bird with El bits embedded in it. Shrieking in pain, the bird began to grow, absorbing the darkness at a rapid pace. Brenna picked up her chalk, drawing another, larger circle around the mutating bird. The bird - and the darkness - soon passed the smaller circle, its blood twisting and forming itself into a scarlet scythe, and, as the bird shuddered, it exploded, sending bloodied feathers everywhere, yet none of them passed the chalk circle. Once the crimson mist settled down, a Forbidden Reaper bowed down to Brenna, a hooked beak on its face rather than that of a Phoru. Flicking her fan open with distinct superiority, she fanned herself delicately. "Retrieve every single feather on the ground and give them to the Master." Brenna's face softened slightly. "Once that is done, you are free to join the others." Bowing deeply, the Forbidden Reaper bent down to collect the bloodied feathers, its crimson scythe glinting ominously. Brenna sighed happily. Another one of her 'children' was born and the Master was receiving her gift, too.

* * *

Me: Ooh, I feel so sneaky! No one knows what's happening! And there's another bad guy, not just Brenna! Hehehehehe...

Aisha: So I'm going down the BM/DW path?

Me: SHUT UP! *throws books at her*

Aisha: TT_TT WHERE IS SHE GETTING ALL THESE BOOKS FROM?!

Elsword: You know the library down the street?

Aisha: *still running from books* Yeah?

Elsword: Last week, Rosa checked all of them out.

Aisha: ...

Elsword: It was nice knowing you.

Me: *after calming down* So, a lot of my reviews for the last chapter said that I would have to kill someone in this dark story of mine. I guess I didn't put it properly, so let me restate that: People WILL die in this story, it will either suck like hell or I will just have a really hard time choosing which death to use. Just warning you, it'll be gruesome~ I'm thinking of changing the rating. You will also notice that the genre has slightly changed!

Elsword: ...

Aisha: ...

Me: ...Who wants to be killed by being given a thousand small cuts all over their body, stabbed in the stomach thirteen times, and then have all their bone marrow sucked out of their body? ^^ I'll let you choose~

Elsword: *shivers* Can I just die of food poisoning?

Me: HAHAHAHAHA **No.**

Aisha: O_o;; Now I'm really scared... *hides in a box*

Me: No worries! I _totally_ know what I'm doing! Now where did I put my sword...?

Aisha: Phew, it's just a sword... Okay, I'm good.

Elsword: ... We might want to run.

Aisha: Why?

Elsword: Oh, this psycho's only been doing martial arts for like EIGHT FREAKIN' YEARS AND KNOWS HOW TO USE THAT THING!

Aisha: ...RUN!

Elsword and Aisha: *flees while they still can*

Me: *returns with sword* Hmm? Where did they go? Oh well. See you next chapter, and don't forget to R&R! Love y'all! Chu~

~ Meanwhile in China ~

Aisha: Does she always say that?

Elsword: Yep. It adds to the psychopathic killer feel.

Me: It sure does~

Aisha and Elsword: *spits out coffee* WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!

Me: Never underestimate the powers of me... *starts laughing evilly*

Elsword and Aisha: *gulps*


	5. Chapter 5: A Sword And A Castle

Elsword took a deep breath. He was standing outside of a dark cave. Taking in a deep breath, Elsword clutched his El shard, walking inside. The air was heavy with dust, a thick layer of moss growing along the walls. Shivering, Elsword held his lantern higher, the faint candlelight shivering in the gentle breeze. Hastily, Elsword rushed around a corner, quickly spotting a monster. Reaching back for his sword, he discovered that it wasn't there. Mentally face-palming, Elsword shuffled quickly around the corner, hoping that the monster didn't see him. "How did I forget my sword?" He muttered. And then it hit him. Earlier that day, Rena asked if she could take his sword to the blacksmith's to get it repaired and sharpened. He had said yes, and gave it to her, leaving him weaponless. Eyes darting around the cave, Elsword spotted a rusty sword that some previous explorer had left behind. Sighing, he picked it up, weighing it careful, looking at the straightness of the blade and the balance. "I guess it'll work..." Muttering again, Elsword set the lantern down on the ground, rushed over to the monster, leapt into the air, and brought the blade down on its head with a dull thud. Much to his surprise - and the surprise of the monster - the rusted blade snapped in half. Blinking away his confusion, Elsword dove to the side, pulling out the blade it had strapped to its side, taking advantage of the monster's momentary confusion. Before it could roar with fury, Elsword slashed the new-found blade downwards, chopping the monster cleanly in half. He let out a breath of relief, and returned to retrieve his lamp. Walking further into the cavern, Elsword shivered. Skeletons were piled high along the walls, and the light bounced eerily off of the walls. Walking forward, he silently prayed that there would be no more monsters for him to face, although he knew that it would be impossible, considering the size of the caverns and the sheer number of enemies he had already encountered. From around another bend, Elsword heard a deep voice ring out, one that made him shudder. "Find it!" The voice cried. There was not a single shred of kindness in the voice, and beyond that, Elsword heard scrabbling noises and loud cracks, the kind of noises you hear when people's feet drag along the ground as the scramble to get away from a whip. Cautiously peering around the corner, Elsword struggled to hold in his gasp.

This new cavern was by far the largest he had seen, with soaring ceilings and wide, broad walls that were covered in various types of lichens, what was in the cavern made Elsword's breath hitch in his throat. Hundreds, probably thousands of creatures, both big and small, were scrambling throughout the cavern, destroying anything they could find the middle of all of this was a very plain-looking man, someone who was on the verge of becoming something incredible, but decided against it at the last second, someone who was so plain and unnoticeable that Elsword feared that if he looked away, he would forget what he looked like instantly. The man had medium length brown hair, and was of an average height, with plain features and a slightly over-sized nose. What probably was the most striking part of him was his dark, almost completely black eyes. His expression was stony, and he continued to intimidate Elsword by cracking a large, black whip over his head, scowling at anyone or anything that dared to look his way. _I'll avoid that cavern, thank you very much._ Walking as silently as possible down the cavernous paths, he stumbled on a vine that snaked its way across the ground. As he fell, the vine pulled down more vines, and everything - including Elsword - fell in a giant heap, landing with a loud, echoing thump. He mentally face palmed. From the enormous cavern, the man began to shout furiously. "Investigate that noise! Now!" _Shit._

Rena looked around. "Aisha, do you know where Elsword is?" Aisha looked up from her mountain of eggs, toast, and bacon. "Eldork? I dunno. I thought he was with Hoffman." Sighing, Rena bit into her pear. "Jeez, I have his sword. I just got it repaired, and the blacksmith even upgraded it for him. Where could he possibly be?" Her tone was light, a cheerful smile spread across her face. Aisha grumbled. "Morning people..." Rena giggled, stretching happily. "Well, we finally got to sleep in proper beds after being really battered up, so of course I'm feeling a lot better~" Her brilliant smile slightly faded. "But, we'll probably be doing a lot harder and more dangerous missions soon. We should probably prepare ourselves." Aisha nodded. "I'm going to ask Hoffman if he has any more grimoires I can read. After that, I guess I should focus on rebuilding my magic powers..." Rena's head snapped up. "Rebuilding them?! What happened?" Aisha winced, realizing she had accidentally tipped off Rena about her dilemma. (A/N: OMG THAT RHYMED!) "Umm... Well, you see... To make a long story short, there was this ring that..." Her cheeks flushed in shame. "It kinda... absorbed my powers," she finally said. Rena smiled softly. "A cursed ring, huh... Ah, there used to be a lot more of those when I was young, so it's almost an honor to have your powers sucked out by one." Winking, Rena leaned over to whisper. "You know, when you find that ring again, you'll be twice a strong~" Aisha nearly spat out her drink. "RENA! Stop joking," she hissed. "A magician can't have too much power, else they'll become corrupted." Rena giggled, and poked Aisha lightly. "If it's you, then you would be able to handle it no problem. So don't worry about a thing, alright? You'll get your powers back, and then you'll be even stronger." Aisha giggled. "I guess. But then again, if I never find that ring, it'll still be bad." Rena tsked gently. "Stop worrying over something that hasn't even happened yet, Aisha." Aisha giggled. "I should, shouldn't I?" Rena smiled, and stood up, bringing her plate with her. "If you excuse me, I'm going to go do some training now." Aisha nodded, watching as her slender figure vanished from her sight. Continuing to eat her breakfast, a few snippets of conversations drifted over to her. "...I'm telling you, that girl you're seeing? She's cheating on you." Tuning out that conversation, Aisha focused in on another one.

"...acting strange, hasn't he? What with the... and all." Bits and pieces were cut off from the two men's conversation, so Aisha had a hard time piecing it together. "I know, right? Wally isn't... travelers said... what with that Nasod army of his, and all." This caught Aisha's attention. Nasod's were supposed to have been destroyed long, long ago, not a single one remaining on the planet, or if they did, they were broken beyond repair. Who in the world could have an army of them, then? "... all high-and mighty, but he's so pitiful... Wally's Nasods are the only real threat..." The second man began to speak. "His other army... really big... Did you hear about the breach in the castle walls?" Now this was something that Aisha could use. Leaning in as close as she could without being suspicious, Aisha strained her ears to listen. "Yeah, it the third..." A loud gong rang through the village, cutting off what he said. The people in the inn calmly stood up, cleared their tables, and began to move all the furniture around. Aisha nearly let out a strangled scream of frustration. "Miss, can you please help us move these tables?" Aisha smiled. "Can I ask what's going on?" The elderly couple that had asked for her assistance smiled. "That gong meant that the El was disrupted. We're making room for the people to come in just in case it gets removed or breaks down." No sooner than they had finished, a slow flood of people began to trickle through the doors. Aisha sighed. "Lovely, it's even more crowded now."

Elsword ran faster than he thought possible down the corridors of the stone caves. _Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit._ Curses flew out of his mouth, mostly containing 'shit,' and 'crap,' at a startling rate as he stumbled along. Behind him, the ultimate encouragement to run faster: A hoard of angry monsters lead by a plain, most likely sadistic man who was probably on the same side as that creepy Brenna lady. As Elsword ran along, his string of curses became more and more frantic and got louder, and he silently - as well as out loud - cursed his bad luck and overall clumsiness for actually tripping over a 'goddamn vine that was right in front of my fucking face.' Yet another pathway appeared in front of Elsword, and without a second thought, he threw himself into the opening, his hand brushing along a sword. Good, he had broken the most recent one. Picking up the sword, Elsword leapt up as high as he could, clambering onto a rock shelf and pressing himself as far back as he could, clutching the sword as close to his body as he could without cutting himself. A rush of clattering was heard, and Elsword didn't even have to look over the edge to know that the monsters had run past him. Examining the sword, Elsword found himself mesmerized by the smooth, curved silver-and-red blade. Running his fingers over the metallic surface, a golden, glowing rune appeared. _Who wakes me from my sleep? _Startled, Elsword stared at the blade. _Who wakes me from my sleep?_ Curiously looking around for the voice, Elsword could only come up with one solution: The sword was talking to him. "Umm... My name is Elsword. Elsword of the Red Knights." Okay, so that wasn't _totally_ true, I mean, sure he was trained by his sister, but he wasn't officially a Red Knight. Yet. The voice chuckled. _I see. My name is Cornwell. As for where I am, you are looking at me._ Elsword's eyes bulged. The voice - er, sword - laughed. _Yes, I am a sword. But not just any sword. You see, I have mysterious powers, although I'm sure you know all about them, since you were searching for me._ Elsword nodded. "The power to summon other great swords..." If Cornwell was a real person, Elsword was sure he would've smirked. _So, you want power then, Elsword? I can give it to you. All you have to do is promise me one thing..._ Listening carefully, Elsword considered his choices. Should he obtain the power he wanted? Or should he refuse? Taking a deep breath, Elsword nodded. "Yes."

Rena stared at Elword's new, upgraded sword. It was still red, like she had asked the blacksmith to do, but there wasn't a lot of white. Actually, there was none at all. Rather than being rectangular, the new blade was curved and serrated, tapering down to a sharp point. Black, grey, red. Thick, heavy handle. Rena sighed. "Hopefully he won't mind the fact that it changed so much..." Aisha came bouncing by, only to stop and stare at the sword. "...Is that Elsword's?" Rena smiled brightly. "Why yes, it is. It looks different, doesn't it?" Aisha nodded, her magenta dress fanning out beneath her as she sat on the ground, still studying the new sword. "Eh, that blacksmith isn't half bad... Maybe I should get him to make me a new staff..." Rena laughed. "You don't like the one I bought you?" Aisha glared at her. "But... It looks like a magical girl staff!" Aisha motioned at her clothing. "Next time, let me choose my own clothing, please! It's very annoying to be dressed as a lolita magical girl all the time." Rena giggled, a bright smile across her face. "Hmm? I saw how much you liked them when you first saw them~" Aisha's face turned red. "Dear El, what on Elrios are you talking about?" Rena chuckled, standing up and walking over to her bed, pulling out the object that was wrapped in the black ribbon Aisha had seen earlier. Carefully unwrapping it, a glinting, silver sword appeared. Aisha stared at it. "I thought you were an Elven archer, though..." Rena giggled. "I am. But, since what we're facing is so dangerous, I think that I need something else to arm myself." Examining the blade carefully, Rena smiled. "It's called Erendil. A very fine blade, if I do say so myself~" Sheathing it carefully, Rena picked up the black scarf - which Aisha now saw was a ribbon - and tied her hair back, letting the ribbon fall loose. Picking up her bow, Rena sighed. "When Elsword comes back, we should investigate what happened to the El. And Lord Wally, for that matter too. The conversation you heard earlier just confirmed my suspicions about him." Almost on cue, Elsword burst into the room, panting, his red hair ruffled unsightly, dark circles under his eyes. "Rena! Aisha!" He blinked in confusion. "Sorry, wrong room. You two just looked like some of my companions..." Aisha frowned. "What are you talking about, Elbaka?" Elsword's eyes widened. "A-AISHA?! RENA?!" Rena giggled. "Yep, it's us~" Elsword shook his head. "No, Rena doesn't own a blade, and wouldn't wear clothing like that." Rena twirled around. "Ah, this? Well, the clothing store owner didn't have anything else in my colors that was easy to move around in, so I got this. And as for the sword, I got it recently." Elsword then turned to point at Aisha. "And that stupid grape couldn't be... couldn't be..." Aisha began to fume. "What could I not be?!" Elsword looked at the ground, blushing slightly. "...cute..." Aisha's eyes widened. Cornwell glowed. _Hmm... __Do you like this girl, Elsword? _Elsword glared. "Shut up, Cornwell." Rena blinked, slightly confused, but then brushed it off, smiling brightly. "Anyways, we've got to go check out Wally's castle~" Aisha nodded, holding out her hand, a very feminine staff materializing in her outstretched palm. "This should be fun." Rena glanced at Elsword's torn up clothing. "Your repaired armor and new clothing is in your room. Might want to get changed first." Elsword nodded. After he got changed, Rena tossed his sword at him. "Why do I need this? I already have another sword..." Rena giggled. "Cornwell functions much better with a partner, no?"

Inside Wally's castle, a guard stood at his post, alert and awake, ready for anything that would come his way. What he was not ready for was a scantily-clad, big chested elf to leap down from above him and plant a firm kick in his comrade's face. Rena spun around, drawing her blade quickly, and landed softly on the ground, sword blade pressed against the soft flesh of his throat. "Hello there~ I'm going to ask you to pass out for a bit with your friends, okay~?" A heavy wand came in contact with his head, causing him to crumple to the ground. Aisha floated to the ground, drawing a rune on the ground that made Elsword appear. He sighed, hefting both of his swords. "You're really good with that, Rena." Rena smiled, sheathing her sword and drawing her bow, nocking an arrow. "Thank you. Although, I'm still a bit more comfortable with a bow." Aisha cleared her throat. "We should save the chatter for later. Right now, we've got to get to where I detect the El's magic is coming from." Continuing down their path, they continuously knocked out the guards that blocked their way, avoiding larger groups of guards to avoid the possibility that one of them would sound the alarm. As they crept towards the courtyard, Elsword stopped abruptly. "That's the El stone," He whispered. Rena peered back, and gasped. Wally stood beside a large, rotating statue of the world. Several bulky, large machines stood next to him, their mechanic 'arms' raised in a mock salute. The El, softly pulsing blue, sat next to an even larger El stone, which softly glowed gold. In between the gold and blue El stones was a slightly smaller green one, the color of leaves. "Those are the El stones of Elder and my village! Why does Wally have them?" One of the large machines - which Aisha assumed was a Nasod - stepped forward, picking up the Ruben El stone with ease. Two others picked up the Elven El and the Elder El. Suddenly, a dark, black swirl of shadow appeared, and the plain man Elsword had seen in the caverns stepped out. A pale, delicate had reached out of the shadows, and the man took it, guiding Brenna down to the ground gently. Brenna glanced at Wally briefly before turning her attention to the Nasods that carried the El stones. "I trust they are ready to be moved." Wally nodded vigorously, an ecstatic smile plastered across his face. "Yes, Mistress Brenna. They can be moved any time." Brenna's eyes narrowed, and darted over to where Elsword, Rena, and Aisha were hiding. She smirked. "I see that our rats are still alive." Flicking open her fan, she pointed at the three of them, waving her other hand imposingly. "Emanuel. Insure that the El stones are moved. Wally, take Reif and Twaer and make sure that they do not live." Two large, red magic circles stretched across the ground, and each circle summoned a Forbidden Reaper, however, these two were slightly different. One carried two large swords that burned with flames, and the other held a ball and chain that shimmered with a bluish light. Emanuel, the plain man, made the Nasod destroy the walls to the castle and began to retreat with the El, their footsteps shaking the ground. Brenna disappeared in a burst of shadow, and reappeared on top of a Nasod, sitting down and allowing the Nasod to carry her. Elsword turned to the two Forbidden Reapers, growling, and unsheathed his swords. "Time to learn how to fight with two swords." Rena readied her sword, her bow accessible just in case. Aisha narrowed her eyes. "Don't die on me, Rena. Oh, and you too, Elsword." Elsword smirked. "What makes you think I'm going to die?" With that, he launched himself into battle.

* * *

Me: I AM EVIL! CLIFFHANGERS! MWA HA HA HA HA!

Rena: So... I'm a Trapping Ranger! I thought you like SR/GA best, though

Me: I do, but SR/GA is used in so many fanfictions already, so TR/NW it is!

Chung: When do I come into the story?

Me: After lots of thought, I have decided you will come in at around chapter 30.

Chung: O_o WHY?!

Me: JK! I don't know when you'll come in... Actually, Rena, Elsword, and Aisha have to get past Wally and Bethma first. Then they have to meet Raven. See, this story follows the story line of Elsword closely, but it's different~

Raven: She's normal today... WHY IS SHE NORMAL?!

Me: I was eating a mochi :3

Elgang: ...I want a mochi...

Me: NO! NONE FOR YOU! *pulls out chainsaw*

Eve: O_O;; CALM DOWN WOMAN! *shoots lasers*

Aisha: *in emo corner* TT_TT It took so long for this chapter to come out...

Elsword: *in separate emo corner* TT_TT Rosa said that I thought that bipolar grape was cute...

Me: You know, I have a new idea~

Rena: This can't be good...

Me: FINE! I was GOING to give everyone cookies for good behavior and lay off the murdering characters until chapter 10, but NO! It wasn't a good idea!

Everyone but me & Rena: RENA... *chases Rena with weapons*

Me: Well then, see you next chapter! Love y'all! Chu~


	6. Chapter 6: The Fall of Elder

Elsword unsheathed his swords, spinning in a circle while slashing, forcing the two Forbidden Reapers to raise their weapons to block his attack. Cornwell sighed. _You shouldn't be so reckless, Elsword..._ Elsword sighed. "Shut up, Cornwell." Emanuel's head snapped up, his eyebrows arching in shock. "Reif! Twaer! Retrieve Cornwell at all costs!" Brenna sighed, fanning herself. "If you weren't so incapable of doing anything, then this would never have happened." Elsword growled. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about, but..." As if to prove his point, he jumped forward, slicing downwards at the double sword wielding Reaper. "...Cornwell and I made a pact, and I'm not planning to break it!" Rena dashed forward, Erendil in hand, and slashed at the Forbidden Reaper holding the ball and chain. The Reaper turned, and swung the chain, wrapping it around the blade. Aisha darted to the other side of the blue Reaper, and, hefting her wand, smashed the ground, releasing a powerful burst of magic that lifted the cobblestones and the ground beneath it upwards. The blue Reaper flew upwards, but twisted gracefully through the air and landed on the ground, swinging its weapon out in a wide arc. Wally pointed at Elsword. "Reif, focus your efforts on the redhead! Twaer, the elf! Wally 08, keep the mage busy!" Aisha scowled, her eyes fixed on the retreating forms of the Nasod that carried the El stones. Sighing, she raised her staff, twirling it above her head, creating a huge, pulsing orb of energy, which she released at the Nasod. Behind her, Rena flipped through the air, her bow drawn, riddling the blue Reaper, Twaer, with arrows, her eyes searching for the darkened El stone that was its source of power. A clash of swords signaled that Elsword and the second Reaper, Reif, had begun to fight. Wally, being the coward he was, slowly retreated backward, keeping an eye on the ongoing chaos.

Reaching a wall, Wally pressed a button, which caused a shrill alarm to sound. Whipping around, Rena shot the alarms. Twaer took advantage of her momentary distraction and swung its weapon, catching Rena in the back. With an explosion of blue light, Rena shrieked, her legs and back stiffening as ice crept along her body. Rolling away as best as she could, Rena slashed out with Erendil, wind blasting up around the slice, the blade finding its way into its arm. Elsword leapt back as Reif released an immense blast of fire through the air. Aisha jumped into the air, crashing onto the Nasod with extreme force, before teleporting over to Rena and blasting a ball of pure energy at Twaer. Elsword shoved Reif into Twaer. "Aisha! Get that Nasod over here!" Nodding, Aisha teleported over to the Nasod, landing on its head and teleporting back to where both slightly dazed Reapers were. As the three travelers advanced, Wally waved his arm around in an imitation of Brenna's commanding gesture. "Stop holding back!"Reif suddenly burst into flame, dashing around the courtyard at an extreme speed. Screeching with rage, it sailed through the air, planting a firm kick in Elsword's stomach, both swords coming down at once, aimed straight at his neck. Elsword parried, but the blades cut his shoulder. As Aisha readied a spell to help him, the Nasod swung its arm out, hitting her squarely in the chest. She flew through the air, hitting a wall and crumpling to the ground. Twaer's chain wrapped around Rena's leg, dragging her backwards. Narrowing her eyes, Rena pushed off a wall to get closer to Twaer, releasing a blast of wind that was filled with razor-sharp leaves. Twaer ignored these like they were mere insects, and pulled out a knife, stabbing down towards Rena. Rena twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade. Wally cackled. "You will never beat them!" He smirked. "Now if you excuse me, Mistress Brenna requires me." He quickly fled, dashing through a tunnel. Elsword scowled, spitting up blood. Raising his arms in a faint attempt to block yet another devastating blow from Reif, he suddenly had a stroke of genius.

As Elsword was about to shout out his plan, both swords came flying towards his legs. Slamming the hilt of Cornwell into the first sword, he summoned a wall of swords to guard him from the other. Elsword smirked. "Rena! Get out of the way!" Getting the hint, Rena leapt out of the way, but not before firing an arrow that left behind a trail of glowing green and red leaves. Pointing the swords at the two Reapers, Elsword released them, sending the flying. Reif stumbled back, landing in a trap that Rena set, glowing spikes piercing it. Reif let out a blood-curdling scream, but pulled itself off of the spikes, only to be pierced by thousands of swords. Behind it, Twaer had been ensnared in a magical net. Aisha blasted an orb of energy at it, her eyes widening when she saw it guarding its weapon carefully. "The El shards are in the metal ball!" Elsword looked up, stunned. Grinning, he raised Cornwell. "Cornwell, I need another sword." Cornwell scoffed. _You only have two hands, Elsword._ Elsword shook his head. "A phantom sword doesn't need to be held." Suddenly, a ghostly sword appeared. Charging forward, Elsword leapt at Twaer, slashing at the metallic ball, the phantom sword mimicking his every motion. Rena dashed forward, slicing off Reif's arm, causing him to turn his attention to her. Aisha lifted her wand. "Elsword, stand back for a moment! I'm going to weaken the ball through a small dimensional rift!" Twirling her staff, a dark, black opening appeared, ripping a layer of material off of the metal ball. Closing her eyes, Aisha smiled faintly. "Sorry, I can't do anymore..." Energy spent, Aisha collapsed on the ground. Snarling, Elsword dropped his sword (Not Cornwell, because Cornwell was special) and grabbed the phantom sword, throwing it straight at the weakened metal ball. The ball shattered like it was made out of glass, and both Reif and Twaer flickered before disappearing in puffs of smoke. Rena swiftly sliced the Nasod in half, retrieving the El shards that the two Reapers dropped. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Aisha realized that her relief was short-lived.

"Guys," she said weakly. "You know that alarm that Wally set off? Well, Rena didn't shut it off soon enough..." Soon, guards came rushing into the courtyard. "Halt! Drop your weapons and surrender yourselves!" Elsword sighed. Suddenly, before anyone could react, the smoke that once was Reif exploded into flame, while the smoke that once was Twaer covered the courtyard in one fell swoop, closing off all the air. Suffocating, everyone in the courtyard - including Rena, Elsword, and Aisha - collapsed to the ground, being hit again and again with wave after wave of fire. Rena writhed in pain, and Aisha gasped for breath. Elsword was strangely still, his eyes glued on the sky. _Oi, Elsword! You can't die on me, you still have to fulfill your side of the pact! _Elsword didn't answer. With a grunt of effort, Aisha clutched Rena's hand, and rolled over, managing to wrap her arm around Elsword's waist. Struggling for breath, Aisha managed to teleport out. The three of them lay just outside of Wally's castle, panting. A tear rolled down Aisha's cheek. "I couldn't save all those guards..." Rena brushed the tear away. "You saved us. We'll avenge them, okay?" Aisha shook her head, staring up at the sky. "But I could've saved all of them. If only I were a bit more powerful..." Elsword sat up, miffed. "Will you just shut up about that already?! You're alive, I'm alive, and Rena's alive. We already said that we'd avenge them. If you're going to mope about the people you couldn't save, make up for it by saving twice as many people!" Aisha blinked, startled by his sudden outburst. "Just shut up, Elsword! _You_ weren't the person who could've helped them live! I used to have enough power to save them, and then it was all taken away! Of course I feel guilty! If I still had my former power, then none of this would've happened! I'm... I'm... It's all my fault..." Tears were spilling down her face. Elsword sighed. "Don't blame yourself, you damn grape. Just save more people, that's all." Aisha glared at him, but her gaze softened when she saw the nasty gashes covering his arms and the particularly bad cut across his chest. "Save your breath. Everyone's barely alive and badly beaten up." Rena giggled slightly, her everlasting smile glowing in the now gloomy town of Elder. "We should probably tend to our wounds out here, we wouldn't want to scare the townspeople in the inn with all of our wounds." Pulling out several potions, bandages, and salves from her 'bandolier of wonders' as Elsword called it, passing out a few skins of water. Elsword winced while Rena slathered a blue salve over his cuts, watching her as she expertly wound the bandages around his arm. Aisha took a drink from a water skin before tending to her own wounds. She sighed. "We've got to get out of Elder quickly, and then we can go find the El again." Pulling out a map, she traced a path across it. "Brenna and that Emanuel character have already struck the Elven Village, Ruben, and Elder, so..." Her finger landed on Bethma. "...They're probably headed to Bethma. Which means that we're headed to Bethma, too." Rena nodded, packing up her medicines and bandages. "We should head out as soon as we let Hoffman know about the situation." Elsword sighed, strapping both Cornwell and his other sword to his back. "We need to hurry before Ruben is completely destroyed." Aisha nodded. "Let's go to Hoffman, then."

Brenna sat in the same dark cave, stroking a bluebird absently. A man with dark hair, silver eyes, a black, sleeveless jacket with various zippers and buckles, black, belted jeans, and tall, black boots sauntered in. A single, black wing protruded from his left shoulder-blade, and a chattering bluebird sat on his shoulder. At his hip was a jet black sword that radiated evil. Brenna didn't bother to spare a glance at the strange man. "Oriole, what are you doing here?" His silver eyes glinted with mischief. "Just checking in on my dear Brenna." Brenna glared at him. "If that's all, then get out." Oriole sighed. "You're so cold." He tossed a small bag at her. Holding out her hand, the bag floated gently to the ground. "What's this?" She asked curiously, examining the bag. Oriole chuckled coldly. "A present." Opening it, a small pile of El shards spilled out. Brenna giggled, standing up to walk over to Oriole, pulling him into a hug. "As expected from the Shadow Thief..." She whispered. Oriole smirked. "_He_ taught me fairly well. And _he_ also taught you very well." Brenna giggled. "My brother is not someone to be trifled with." Pulling away from the hug, Oriole left the cavern, leaving Brenna with the El shards. He heard the screeching of chalk, and assumed that Brenna was going to create more Forbidden Reapers. Navigating the twisting, cavernous place he called home, Oriole opened a door, walking into the specially cut room that was found there. He smirked. At the other end of the room, chained to a wall, was a slumped figure, her red hair falling out of her fraying braid, severe wounds stretched across her body. A silver-haired girl with dark blue eyes that seemed to have no pupils, small frame, pale skin, and a fine scattering of freckles stood up, shutting off an orb of gold light that enveloped the girl. Oriole sighed. "You've only healed her enough so that she won't die, right, Twilia?" Twilia nodded, exasperated. "I'm not stupid, Oriole. Elsa won't be going anywhere for a while." Elsa groaned, her eyes fluttering open. Oriole grinned, and when Elsa was fully conscious, kicked her in the ribs. She gasped in pain, curling up into a ball, coughing up blood. Twilia smirked. "Now, now, Oriole. Brenna won't be happy if she finds out that you killed her precious brother's toy." Oriole snorted. "_He_ hasn't claimed it yet, and I won't kill her. Yet." Reaching down, Oriole pulled up Elsa by her hair. "Now, tell me about what you discovered, about the El." He smiled sardonically, and Elsa glared at him. "No," she whispered, her voice hoarse. Twilia smirked lightly. "You may do what you please with her, Oriole, as long as you don't kill her. How has Brenna's end been going, by the way?" Oriole grinned coldly. "Perfect. Three El stones are in our grasp, but there have been a few pesky witnesses getting in her way." He turned to Elsa, sneering. "Did you know? Your brother is fighting us. Tell us about the El and we won't kill him." Elsa's eyes widened. "El...sword..." Oriole grinned triumphantly. "The brother's name is Elsword, Twilia. Make note of that and send it over to Huang, and tell him to prepare a curse for Elsa's 'lovely' younger brother." Twilia rolled her eyes. "Don't order me around," she spat, but none the less followed his orders. Oriole turned back to Elsa. "Now, about the El..."

* * *

Me: I am on a ROLL! Two updates in two days! And guess what?

Aisha: What?

Me: Since I'm in le Canada, tomorrow is Victoria's Day!

Raven: And that means...?

Me: *whacks Raven with frying pan* Stupid, it means NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! YESH!

Rena: So are you going to update tomorrow as well?

Me: If I can manage it. *kicks Elsword*

Elsword: OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!

Me: That was for being super annoying in PvP. Also, a big shout out to an awesome author, Kiyo-Kun Blade! Happy birthday~!

Chung: You already PMed him to say that, though...

Me: *throws pillow at Chung* SHUT UP!

Eve: HOW DARE YOU HIT CHUNG!?

~ Eve VS Rosamanelle Pokémon Style Battle ~

Eve uses Slap!

Rosamanelle uses Table Shield!

Rosamanelle brings out Chainsaw!

Eve flees!

~ WINNER: ROSAMANELLE! ~

Me: Yup. I won.

Eve: TT_TT She brought out a chainsaw. She scares me. Or I would be scared if I had emotions.

Raven: Wait, Brenna's brother is the main bad guy in this story?

Me: Yup~ I'm considering to use the name John for her brother's name :)

Chung: You have too many OC's in this story. There's Brenna, Oriole, Twilia, and Huang...

Me: _***SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ THIS LINE IF YOU DO NOT WANT A SPOILER!***_ I'm still withholding Erasmus and Adaire, though...

Chung: Why are all your OC's in this story evil?

Rena: Do not question her.

Raven: Anyways, don't forget to R&R! The more reviews she gets, the more motivated she is, so then I'll be put in the story faster!

Aisha: See you all next chapter! Hopefully I won't die by then!

Me: Love y'all! Chu~


	7. Chapter 7: Bethma

Hoffman frowned. "What happened to you three?" Rena smiled lightly. "Oh, nothing major~" Hoffman sighed. "Wally stole the El. How could we not see how terrible he truly is?!" Elsword scoffed. "Yeah, well we know first-hand how bad he is. Just so you know, you might have to repair the castle once the El has been brought back." A town-person's eyes lit up. "That means you're going to retrieve our El, too?!" Aisha grimaced. "Eh, well..." They didn't give her a chance to finish. "Listen up everyone! The elf, swordsman, and mage are going to get our El back!" An excited murmur arose through the crowd. Rena smiled brightly. "Well, it's headed the same way as the Elven El and the Ruben El, so... Sure, we'll pick it up as well~" Elsword glared at her. "Rena, what the hell do you think you're saying?!" He hissed. Rena smiled gently. "Well, they already think that we're going to get it, so might as well. Besides, weren't you the one who told Aisha just to save more people?" Elsword scowled. "That was something my sister always said. I just repeated it." Rena shrugged. "You wouldn't say something you can't understand the meaning of, would you?" Fumbling for words, Elsword simply glared at the floor. Aisha sighed. "Let's get the rest of our armor and head over to Bethma already."

Rena giggled, and tapped Aisha's pack lightly. "Aisha~ Everything you own is in that bag already." Reddening, Aisha turned her nose upwards. "W-Well excuse me, I'm sorry I was prepared for anything!" Rena giggled and went to their room to collect their things. Elsword rolled his eyes. "Stupid grape, you'll slow us down with all that stuff!" Aisha glared at him. "I dare you to say that I'll slow you down again!" He stuck out his tongue. "You'll. Slow. Us. Down." Before Aisha could react, Rena returned. "I'm back! Oh my, did I interrupt your flirting session?" Elsword turned red. "NO! We weren't flirting! AT ALL!" Rena giggled. "I see. No need to get all worked up about it, Elsword..." He flushed. Turning around indignantly, Aisha marched out the door. "Hurry up! Wally'll get ahead of us at this rate!" Elsword sighed. "We'll be behind anyways, 'cause we need to recover..." Aisha glared at him, and pulled Rena through the door. "We'll leave you behind if you don't hurry!" Rena laughed cheerily. "You two are so cute!" Aisha glared at her.

Later that week, Elsword sighed, taking a drink from a water skin. "Why is this place so hot?!" Aisha rolled her eyes. "It's a desert, of course it's hot." Golden sand surrounded them, whirling in the wind, while the hot sun beat down on them. Waves of heat rose from the sand, and the air was dry and dusty. Rena sighed, leaning back, drinking in the sunlight. "I haven't been to a desert in ages. They haven't changed much, really." Her eyes were unfocused, lost somewhere in her memories. Elsword stood up, brushing off his pants. "Whatever. Let's get going, already, I don't want to bake out in the sunlight." Aisha scowled at the sand. "By the way, if you guys see anything in the sand, leave it." Elsword looked at her, confused. "Huh?" Aisha glared at him. "You heard me, or do I need to say it slowly, Elbaka?" Elsword growled. "Why do you always take me for an idiot? Sure, I might not be the most intelligent -" Aisha rolled her eyes. "Jeez, that must've been the biggest word you've ever used." Elsword stood up, annoyed. "Just shut up, you grape! If you can't bother to even hear me out, then just shut up!" Aisha raised an eyebrow. "Oi, you have no right to tell me to shut up when you're doing all the shouting." Rena sighed, exasperated. "Please stop, you two. It's too hot to argue." Elsword was about to yell at Rena, but quickly stopped himself when he saw the slightly sorrowful look on her face. "...Alright, Rena. Only for you, though..." Aisha turned to a dusty red gorge that was in the distance. "Bethma isn't that far away. We've already encountered too many enemies for my liking. We should hurry, I guess." Rena smiled. "I guess we should, then." Standing up, Rena drew her sword, slicing a scorpion in half. She sighed. "I hate killing wildlife like this, but it's necessary in cases like this."

A dusty wind blew through the rocky red gorge. Peering around cautiously, Aisha snorted. "Rena, I thought you said Bethma was a place that was always filled with people..." Rena smiled cheerfully. "Places change, y'know~ Besides, with all the El stones disappearing, I'm pretty sure that no one wants to travel around." Elsword sighed. "Whatever, can we just get a move on it? I want to sleep on a proper bed already." Before the three travelers could set so much as a foot inside the town, people surrounded them, weapons trained on them. "Halt! Who are you and what is your business in Bethma?" Elsword glared acerbically at them. "We're travelers who just happen to be passing through." A fairly pale-skinned man, despite being in the desert, wrung his hands. "Oh, Hoffman told us to be on watch for a sword-wielding elf, a redheaded swordsman, and a purple-haired mage. It must be these people!" The first man who spoke scowled. "Attempting to resist will be futile! Drop your weapons and come with us!" Aisha snorted. "Can we just beat them up?" Rena shook her head, her smile showing a hint of amusement toward's Aisha's comment. "Nope~ We are in Bethma, right? Let's not give them yet another reason to hate us." Sighing, Aisha reluctantly dropped her staff on the ground, followed by Rena, who carefully placed her bow and sword down. Elsword scowled, and whispered to Cornwell. "Can you disappear for a bit? I'd rather these people not getting their hands on you." Cornwell chuckled. _Even if you didn't say anything, I still would've left._ Elsword rolled his eyes, dropping his other sword. "I'm so glad that you trust me so much." Chuckling, Cornwell vanished, luckily being unseen by the other guards.

As the townspeople lead the three travelers through the village, Rena turned to one of them, smiling brightly. "Bethma is a mining town, isn't it? Where are all the miners?" The man scowled at her. "Don't lie. It was obviously you and your companions who did that to our mines." Rena arched an eyebrow, mildly surprised. "Hmm? Something happened in the mines?" As the man glared at her again, Rena playfully whacked Elsword's arm. "Did you hear that? They think we did something to their mines~" She giggled. "Funny thing is I've never been to them." Elsword sighed. "Typical isolated group of people. Suspecting anyone who isn't like them." Aisha pinched him. He yelped and rubbed his arm, because although Aisha preferred hitting his head with a staff, her pinches were fairly harsh. "What was that for, you damn grape?" Aisha stuck out her tongue. "Don't be rude to a lady! And THAT was for insulting people who happen to be in front of us. Ever heard of manners, you Phoru's arse?" Elsword glared at her, his crimson eyes flashing. Without a warning, he darted forward, jabbing his fingers into her sides, and dashed behind Rena. Aisha cringed, bending over slightly and rubbing her sides. "HEY! GET BACK HERE ELBAKA! DON'T YOU KNOW NOT TO TASER YOUR ELDERS?!" Elsword stuck his head out from behind Rena, sticking out his tongue. "HA! YOU LOUSY HALF-DRIED FLAT-CHESTED RAISIN! WHY SHOULD I RESPECT YOU?!" Soon, Aisha and Elsword were chasing each other around, attempting to attack each other's sides. The 'guards' - they were more like a gathering of people who were attempting to protect their town - backed up, confused. Rena grinned. "You two lovebirds, we don't have all day! Flirt with each other later~" Aisha and Elsword flushed, their faces the same shade as Elsword's hair. "WE WERE NOT FLIRTING!" Rena giggled. "Sure~" Skipping off, Rena headed straight towards the Sheriff's office.

A strict looking, brown-haired, brown-eyed woman looked at the strange trio of travelers who had ended up in her office. The redhead and the purple-haired girl were arguing like there was no tomorrow, and every now and then the elf would break them up by saying a few things, her ever-lasting smile teasing and kind. Some of the townspeople who had volunteered to make a militia were carrying their weapons, a finely crafted blade paired with a beautiful curved bow, a large, serrated sword, and a heavy, lolita staff that looked like it belonged in a magical girl story. With that, the Iron Sheriff, the never-smiling Stella, laughed. She laughed so hard her face turned red. Elsword furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the strange Sheriff with confusion. Aisha blinked, and took the opportunity to jab Elsword's side, revenge for his earlier taser. He hissed, giving her the evil eye. Stella straightened up, wiping the mirth off of her face. "It's been a long time since I laughed like that." She shot a sideways glance at the man carrying their weapons. "Give those back. You have no right to take weapons from innocent travelers." Scrambling, the man quickly deposited the weapons at the feet of Elsword, letting out a squeak that sounded something like "I'm so sorry, Stella!" and dashed out of the room. Stella motioned for them to sit in the padded leather chairs in front of her desk. Rena smiled kindly and sat. "You must be the Sheriff." Stella nodded. "Yep. The name's Stella. Tell me, what brings such a strange - I beg your pardon, strange for a lack of a better word - bunch of travelers?" Aisha sniffed with distaste. "Oh, nothing, we're just chasing down an incredibly irritating lord with several Nasods that stole El stones, who happens to be lead by a very creepy, ominous, and much to my dislike, pretty girl who keeps summoning these awful Reapers that happen to be terribly strong, and we suspect that she isn't the brain behind this scheme, either."

Stella blinked in surprise. "A girl? Was she fairly petite with raven-colored hair, dark eyes, and a lacy dress? Was a bluebird perched on her shoulder?" Elsword leapt up. "That's her! I think her name was Brenna or something." Stella's eyes darkened. "Well, this Brenna girl was talking with the Lizardmen the other day. I also saw her talking to a girl with dark brown hair and these odd, pink eyes, and a boy who was slightly taller than her with blonde hair and red eyes. The other two-headed towards the mine. Since then, there's been a great deal of trouble at the mine. Something went wrong, and several of our miners are trapped there. At first, I thought it was the strange newcomers, but now you have just confirmed my suspicions." Aisha sighed. "Great, more of them to deal with..." Elsword snorted. "They just seem to multiply." He yawned. "Rena, can you hurry up and make Stella let us go already?" Rena giggled. Stella gave him a stern glare. "You, young man, remind me of an arrogant knight who once passed through this town. He was killed shortly after we met." Her eyes softened slightly. "Haste makes waste. We don't want you to kill yourselves." Leaning back on her chair, Stella grinned. "The inn should have several empty rooms. Feel free to rest in Bethma for as long as you'd like." Rena nodded, standing up. "Thank you. Is there anything we could do to repay you, Sheriff Stella?" Stella chuckled. "You can start by retrieving those stolen El stones." Rena nodded, mildly surprised that Stella didn't attempt to learn more about them, or the three strangers. Slowly, the three of them exited the Sheriff's office, making their way over to the inn. Aisha sighed, retrieving the keys from a thin, scrawny man who, when he thought they weren't looking, flipped them off, constantly muttering about how Stella was letting thieves run rampant in the town. Entering her room, it didn't take long for Aisha to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Brenna stared at her two companions, stroking her bird. The first, a tall, dark-haired beauty with a shade of pink eyes that looked like a mix of pink and purple, sighed, her flowing black dress with a red cross on it fluttering in the breeze. In one hand was a lantern decorated with black butterflies and flowers, and it glowed with an eerie pink light that matched her eyes. She rubbed her temples. "Ugh, I'm getting a headache. She must be near, then." Brenna smirked. "Adaire, you knew that by coming along, you would end up meeting her." Adaire shot her a nasty glare. "You know that it's in my nature to seek power." A man with spiked blonde hair, blood red eyes, and a somber expression smirked, a cat-like demon sitting on his shoulder licking its lips. "Humph. Greedy little bitch." Adaire sent the man a wicked smile. "Erasmus, I could say the same to you. Getting jealous again?" Erasmus sent her a blank look, filled with coldness. "Adaire, you've been greedy for a while. Stop being sensitive about it already, you'll be a hindrance in battle." Adaire scowled, before wincing. "Shit... Is Huang finished that damn machine yet?" Brenna sighed. "No." Erasmus studied her. "How do you stay cool, even when you're so close to her?" Brenna smirked coldly. "Feeling pain, Erasmus? He is pretty close, you know." She closed her eyes. "No, I feel it too. My pride won't let it show." Erasmus grinned slyly. "Hmm, so you're prideful then?" Brenna giggled. "I'm surprised you didn't know, my dear envious boy." Erasmus sighed, looking up at the stars that began climbing up in the sky. "This dimension is too... similar to home, but also too different." Adaire pouted. "Back home, I was almost done conquering a kingdom, too... But, here is pretty nice too. This dimension holds lots of strong people, which lets me gain more power." Brenna smirked. "If you fall into pain every time you're near your alternate version, then won't you remain the same?" Adaire hissed at her. "Why do you think Huang is making the energy converter?" Erasmus smirked. "_He_ ordered it. After all, what a waste it would be if his seven sins were to die on him. Right, Pride?" Brenna opened her fan, hiding her smirk. "Brother would most definitely be devastated. We are the best of the best, no?" Adaire smirked. "Hopefully I can use that to my advantage." Erasmus rolled his eyes. "Greed, you know what happens if you defy _him_." Adaire smirked. "Envy, you know that you're just jealous of _his_ power. Besides, I might be Greed, but I'm not foolish." Brenna giggled. "I see. Well then, we should put this lovely show on the road soon. How are the Nasods doing in the mines?" Erasmus snorted. "You mean those false, clunky things that Wally calls a Nasod? They're doing very well. Soon, we will have depleted the mine's El supplies." Adaire grinned, her eyes twinkling. "I've got the Lizardmen wrapped so tightly around my finger that they'll practically tear apart the very earth if I asked them to." Brenna giggled, fanning herself gently. "Well then, let's get started, shall we~?"

* * *

Me: I know I am evil. Yet another cliffhanger.

Raven: You took a long time to write this chapter.

Me: I know. I forgot at one point, but the RC got mad at me for not updating, so here it is!

Eve: -.- Really? You had to be told by another author to update?

Me: HEY! SHE THREATENED TO LEAVE ME WITH A CLIFFHANGER!

Elsword: But you're doing that right now...

Me: SHUSH!

Aisha: Just to make things clear... You've turned all of your super creepy OC's into our alternate universe selves?

Me: Absolutely. I had fun doing it too~ Oh, I almost forgot!

Elgang: What?

Me: Hehehe, don't kill me my lovely readers (Okay, that sounds creepy.) but I will not be updating starting on Monday and that will extend over to the Thursday!

Rena: What? Why?

Me: Because I will be in FREAKIN' VICTORIA, BC! :P

Elgang: TAKE US WITH YOU!

Me: NO!

Chung: *flips table* WHAT THE HECK ROSA!

Ara: *bursts through door* DO NOT GET ROSA MAD AT ALL!

Elsword: Why?

Ara: She's been watching horror movies again and now has many more ideas on how to kill/torture you all! O_o

Me: ARA! I'M STILL MAD AT YOU FOR ATTEMPTING TO MURDER AISHA, KILLING AREN, AND TURNING CHUNG AND ELSA INTO SOUL PUPPETS!

Ara: *runs*

Me: *chases after her holding knife* COME BACK HERE SO I CAN SKIN YOU ALIVE!

Raven: Ahem. Anyways, don't forget to R&R!

Rena: That's right! Rosamanelle's been checking her traffic stats lately, and is sad at how huge the difference between views and review is.

Chung: So please don't make her more upset! *whispering* Or else she'll kill us all!

Aisha: See you all next chapter!

Me: *stops chasing Ara momentarily* Love y'all! Chu~

Ara: TT_TT Someone help me...

Me: No one can here you scream~


	8. Chapter 8: Mines and Magic Don't Mix

A Shadow Lizardman crept forward, chuckling to itself. Oh, how stupid that purple-haired girl was for walking outside. Alone. At night. With no weapon. She had perfect timing, too. Its mistress was getting thirsty for bloodshed. Raising its spear, the Lizardman prepared to slam the blunt head straight into the girl's pretty, pale neck. Down the spear went, but before it could reach its target, a flash of silver cut forwards, meeting the spear half-way, flinging it into the air. The sharp bite of metal stung the Lizardman, making a large cut bloom on its legs. Whipping around, it tried to see its assailant, but it was to no avail. The ring of a sword meeting its target sang out, the silver blade meeting the chest of the Shadow Lizardman, who collapsed to the ground with a thump. Finally revealing himself, Elsword stepped out of the shadows, sighing. "Aisha, what're you doing out here without your weapon? You almost got killed." Aisha didn't say anything, but kept on walking. Tilting his head, Elsword followed her. "Oi, Aisha, are you even listening to me?" He leapt in front of her, growling slightly when he saw her bent head. "Aisha, are you still upset about those soldiers? Gain some confidence! You're incredible..." He whispered the last part. "You're better than I could ever be." Aisha still said nothing, continuing to walk. Frustrated, Elsword yanked her arm, dragging her towards him, and lifted her chin up. "Dammit Aisha, stop -" He cut himself off, staring down at Aisha. A bubble of laughter rose up in his throat, but he choked it down. Aisha was sleepwalking. Her eyes were closed, fluttering slightly as she slept peacefully. Honestly, Elsword felt incredibly stupid for yelling at her to gain some confidence while she was sleeping. He chuckled, gently turning Aisha around and leading her back towards the inn. "You stupid grape."

In the morning, Rena cheerily burst through Aisha's door. "Aisha~ Wakey-wakey~!" To her immense surprise, Aisha was sprawled over the floor, purple pigtails fluffed out, fully dressed. Elsword's sword was laid across her bed, its owner sleeping on the floor a few feet away. Rena giggled, and shook Elsword awake. He groaned. "Five more minutes..." Rena shook her head. "If I give you five more minutes, Elsword, Aisha'll get mad at you for sleeping in her room..." Sitting up at the speed of light, Rena barely had any time to avoid Elsword as he stood up, cursing. "Dammit! I must've fallen asleep when I brought Aisha back to her room." Rena tilted her head. "What was Aisha doing outside?" Elsword smirked. "She went out for a walk." Grabbing his sword, Elsword turned to put his fingers on his lips. "Don't tell Aisha, 'kay?" Rena beamed. "What's in it for me~?" Elsword rolled his eyes. "You can think of something, just keep it a secret for now." Rena shrugged, and turned to wake Aisha as Elsword scrambled out of the room. Aisha awoke groggily, extremely upset that she had fallen off of her bed, and annoyed about something, what that something was she wouldn't tell Rena. Dragging her sleepy body down the stairs, Aisha was greeted by Elsword eating food. Lots of it. As she and Rena sat down, Elsword didn't bother to look up. "Morning." Aisha nodded curtly. "Yes, it is morning. Anything else to say?" Elsword shook his head, continuously attacking his pile of pancakes. Rena giggled. "Well, while you two were flirting earlier, I managed to talk to Stella and got a map of the mines. I also figured out where the mines are." She grinned. "You'll never guess what's there~" Elsword looked up. "Miners?" Aisha promptly hit him on the head with her staff. "No, you idiot!" Rena smiled. "Yes, there are miners, but there are also guards. Wally's guards."

Outside of the mine, a man dressed in a stiff gold, silver, and navy uniform was slowly baking in the sunlight. He wiped sweat off of his brow with a _very_ masculine lace handkerchief, fanning himself with one white, kid gloved hand. Blinking, he stared. Since when was that suspiciously man-shaped bush there? Drawing his decorated silver sword, he crept over to the man-shaped bush. "Aha!" He shouted, leaping forward, slicing his sword rather messily through the bush. Expecting blood to spurt out, the guard stepped back, surprised. The very suspicious, human-shaped bush was simply a bush. No person inside or behind it, just a bush. Behind him, Aisha giggled quietly, dashing into the mine, followed quickly by Rena and Elsword. Elsword snorted. "Fancy-pants out there is obviously too stupid to learn the basics of being a guard." Rena smiled brightly. "Wally does have a thing for very neat, well-pressed uniforms. Although the poor man must be roasting out there." Aisha rolled her eyes playfully. "Rena, stop being so nice." She swung her staff forwards, making contact with the skull of another guard, knocking him unconscious. "Geez, this place has so little security." Elsword stopped. "Everyone, stop!" Rena froze turning around, a stiff smile across her face. "Did you hear that?" Elsword nodded. "Cornwell, what was that noise?" Cornwell sighed. _That, Elsword, was the sound of trouble. I suggest you run. Quickly._ Elsword nodded. "Cornwell says we should run, and run away from the sound." Without further hesitation, Rena grabbed Aisha's hand, dragging her down the tunnel, running quickly. Pattering footsteps resounded through the dimly lit tunnels, and from farther away, the whirring and clanking of machines, followed by the hideous screeching of metal meeting stones. As if something - or someone - knew of their path of flight, a slab of rock shot upwards from the ground. Rena pulled back quickly, the tips of her hair getting caught by the rock, sliced off immediately.

Aisha scowled. "Where do we go now?!" Elsword whipped around. "Shut up." Aisha was about to open her mouth in protest when Rena slapped her hand over her mouth. "Listen to him, please." After a few minutes of silence, Elsword growled. "This entire place just shifted. We should return down the hallway we passed, but go down the other side of the fork in the paths. Hurry up, the dangerous thing is getting closer!" Tearing off again, the three travelers came to a sharp stop. "What. The. Hell." Yet another wall was in front of them, where the fork in the paths used to be. "Where are we?" Rena looked around. "No clue. Let's just find a way out of here, at least." They dashed down the corridors, an ominous, thudding noise following them wherever they went, gradually getting louder and louder. Elsword swore. "Where in the name of Lady El are we?! This place is like a bloody maze!" From behind them, a voice chuckled. "So, you finally figured it out, huh?" Rena whipped around, notching a twiggy arrow, firing it out. An ebony blade sliced it in half clearly, followed by several blood-red knives that pierced each hidden trap that she had placed when she sent the arrow out. Narrowing her eyes, Rena unsheathed her sword with a flourish. "Who are you?! Reveal yourself!" The voice chuckled. "My, such a demanding elf. How ridiculous." Another blade flew out, aimed straight at Rena's neck. Elsword stepped forwards, twisting his blade around to block the projectile. "Come out now!" Aisha twirled her staff above her head, sending out a wide circle of flaming spheres of magic. A slight rustling was heard, and suddenly, a dark shadow flew overhead, landing behind Aisha. She gasped, ducking as the ebony blade flashed out, aimed for her neck. Rolling out of the way, she moved to the side, passing Rena, who launched herself at the shadowy figure, wind swirling around her. Red eyes gleamed, and the blade flashed out, knocking aside Rena's sword. Twisting her body, Rena managed to land a shallow attack, pulling off a shadowy cloak that was hiding their attacker. Golden, spiked hair and red eyes appeared, revealing the face of a boy who seemed to be brooding. He smirked, mock bowing. "Good job. You've removed my cloak. That's the farthest any of my victims have ever gotten." Elsword scowled, pointing both his blades at the golden-haired boy. "Who the hell are you?" The boy smirked, suddenly appearing in front of Elsword. "Heh, so you're Elsword, huh?" His eyes flicked up and down, thoroughly examining Elsword. "I thought you would've been bigger." Elsword snarled, slashing his swords forward. The boy leapt back, balancing on one of the blades. "Woah there, big boy. I see you have Cornwell, hmm?" He scowled. "Emanuel is useless, as usual."

Leaping down from the blade, the boy turned to face Elsword. "If you must know, my name is Erasmus. Now show me how strong you are!" Whipping in a full circle, Erasmus threw blades out in a wide circle before leaping through the air, over his blades, and landing to the ground in a crouch, slashing out. Elsword raised his swords, slashing one projectile out of the air with one, block Erasmus' vicious attack with the other. Rena released an orb of wind dashing to the side to swing her sword out, aimed at Erasmus' neck. Erasmus parried, slashing a fireball Aisha sent out in half. Aisha leapt into the air while twirling her staff, preparing to deal a heavy blow, when Erasmus grabbed her leg, swinging her around effortlessly and sending her crashing into Elsword. Rena drew her bow, releasing a quickly flurry of arrows, covering the ground with traps of all shapes and sizes. Erasmus snorted, twisting to the side before slashing downwards. Rena blocked, but quickly was overpowered, bringing her own sword down, narrowly avoiding the blade. With a flick of his wrist, Erasmus sent a knife flying, catching Rena in the should. Elsword pushed Aisha aside, pressing his blades together and slashing at Erasmus. Seemingly surprised, Erasmus blocked, sidestepping to avoid a heavy swing. Elsword growled, and began to swing his swords around with not a single shred of tact, recklessly swinging both swords at once. Surprised, Erasmus took a step back, feeling the swings get heavier and heavier. He scowled as Cornwell shallowly scratched his cheek. Standing up, Aisha twirled her staff about before sending out several orbs of glittering, raw energy towards Erasmus. Erasmus grinned, before drawing two curved knives and throwing them at the orbs, each blade absorbing an energy orb upon contact. When the blades zoomed back around, Erasmus caught one with the tip of his sword, spinning it around in a few circles before flinging the magically charged blade at Rena, repeating the process with the other. Rolling out of the way, Rena stood up and slashed the air in front of her,sending a huge gust of wind at Erasmus. Erasmus sidestepped the attack, before dashing forward rapidly, catching the razor-sharp wind with him, and leapt behind Elsword, slashing at his back. Elsword raised on of his sword, blocking the attack, swinging his blades out viciously, growling in frustration as Erasmus jumped out of the way, hitting Elsword on the back of his head with the butt of his sword as he went. Erasmus sighed. "Enough playing games, little ones. It's time that I ended this already."

* * *

Me: Hello everyone~

Raven: What happened that made you so happy?

Me: OMG, don't get me started! I started watching this AWESOME anime, called Attack on Titan, and it's SO SUPER DUPER GOOD!

Aisha: It's gory, isn't it?

Me: Yup! The Titans eat people, and then there's the Garrison and the Survey Corps and the Military Police, and the Titans look SO cool but they're creepy, and THEY LEFT ME WITH A CLIFFHANGER! :(

Rena: ...Let's talk about something else, shall we?

Chung: So back to the story...

Me: Oh yeah! Hehehehehe... Am I evil? I left you with a cliffhanger! Just like Attack on Titan did with me...

Eve: My sensory scan states that Rosamanelle is anticipating the next few chapters, most likely because the real action will begin soon.

Elsword: I hate Erasmus... He's beating me up!

Me: Yeah, well you were being SO irritating with your FREAKIN' ARMAGEDDON BLADE, so you had to be made a fool of.

Chung: Lots of people have asked when Eve, Raven, and I will be entering the story.

Me: Don't worry my readers! Raven will appear in... *checks notes* In about three more chapters!

Raven: Yes. Now you guys, don't ask when I will appear!

Me: I'm thinking of writing a one shot.

Aisha: Is it inspired by Attack on Titan?

Me: Yes, it is. BUT! I write only for Elsword, or mostly for Elsword, so it will be Elsword!

Eve: *reads notes* She doesn't know which characters to use, so she will be putting up a poll to see what the readers would like.

Chung: SO VOTE PEOPLE!

Elsword: Make sure you guys R&R, okay?

Aisha: The more love a story gets, the more likely Rosa's going to update!

Rena: See you next chapter!

Me: Love y'all! Chu~

Chung: *whispering* She hasn't chased anyone around with weapons yet...

Me: CHUNG! I FINISHED THIS ALREADY! *chases Chung with a wok* (free cookie to anyone who gets the reference! ^^)


	9. Chapter 9: The Fall of Envy

The mines had literally turned into hell. Not only was the entire structure re-arranged, but there was a semi-crazy, particularly short blonde haired madman dashing about with sharp objects, which brought the level of insanity up that much further. Then, as if to spite the trio of travelers, a bright pink glow appeared, encircling the entire mess of a labyrinth, and summoned Lizardmen Shamans who were not only charged with guarding the exits, no, but they provided magical assistance to the petite blonde swordsman, Erasmus. Said swordsman smirked at Elsword, causally flicking his blade, blocking a swing from Cornwell in the process. "I thought such a powerful magic sword would've been much more difficult to defeat. Or maybe it's just the wielder?" Rage burned in Elsword's scarlet eyes, making them glow like coals in a fire. "I dare you to say that again." Erasmus smirked. "I. Said. You're. Weak." Elsword glared at him. "You'll pay for that." Erasmus smirked. "Oh, because of your big sis Elsa? She's a pitiful weakling, too." That set Elsword off. He charged at Erasmus, flipping through the air semi-gracefully to slash down at him with one sword, the other coming around for a powerful slash. Intercepting one sword, Erasmus had to leap off to one side to avoid being shredded to pieces by the second sword.

Behind him, Aisha cast out a succession of powerful orbs of fire and lightening, sending them flying at the offending Lizardmen Shamans who continuously increased each other's powers as well as healed both Erasmus and themselves, while becoming incredibly annoying by casting magic spells as well. Rena sent an arrow straight into the head of a Lizardman Shaman. "Aisha, you go help Elsword! I'll take care of these." Nodding, Aisha twirled her staff around her head, rushing in to help Elsword. Erasmus sighed, ducking and twisting with a practiced ease, his sword flickering like a candle as it seemed to teleport to meet every single blow dealt by Elsword and every single spell Aisha summoned. He sighed. "Really, you two aren't much of a challenge at all." Aisha narrowed her eyes. Elsword bristled. "Yeah? Well, you're such a coward! You won't even fight me head-on!" Aisha held out her hand. "Elsword, enough. You aren't from here, are you?" Erasmus clapped mockingly. "How did you know that I wasn't from Bethma? You must be _such_ a brilliant young lady." Aisha twirled her staff above her head. "No, you're not from this dimension." Erasmus froze. "Well?" Taking advantage of his surprise, Aisha fired several orbs of energy at him. Recovering at the last second, Erasmus leapt out of the way. "How could you tell?" Aisha blinked. "Your energy signature..." Elsword blinked. "Huh?" Attempting to whack Erasmus with her staff, she growled. "Elsword, I'll explain later. You... This energy signature isn't from this dimension. How do I know?" Erasmus glared at her. "How?" Slicing at her, Erasmus jumped forward, landing on Elsword's blades and using them as a platform to push off of. Aisha giggled. "Are you stupid? Your energy signature is identical to Elsword's."

Erasmus growled. "Enough playing around. I have important business to attend to, and I don't need you little brats bothering me." Elsword stabbed the ground, three huge spouts of fire pouring from the ground, all of them which Erasmus dodged easily. Snapping his fingers, three of the infamous Forbidden Reapers popped up. Before they could do anything, Rena dropped to the ground, pulled out a small, round object from her bag, and chucked it at the nearest one. Exploding on contact, the orb turned into a cloud of silvery dust. Elsword coughed, covering his mouth as he blindly waved about his sword. When the dust cleared, where the Forbidden Reaper used to stand was a small life crystal. Rena giggled, skewering another Lizardman Shaman with her sword. "Those were orbs I had Echo make. They're filled with a combination of a special herb and a special mix, and together they make a substance that'll turn an objects time until when they were pure." Elsword dashed over to Rena, grabbed two more of the orbs, and threw them at the remaining Reapers. Erasmus scowled as the Reapers disappeared. Before he could disappear, though, Aisha smacked the back of his head with her staff - hard. Hard enough to make him loose consciousness. Elsword stared at Aisha, dumbfounded. Aisha smiled sheepishly. "I used a bit too much power... Oops?" Elsword sighed, shaking his head. "Note to self: Don't get hit by Aisha with her ridiculously girly staff..." Aisha glared at him. "SHUT UP!" Rena sliced the last Lizardman Shaman in half, and skipped over to where the blonde swordsman lay. "He kinda looks like Elsword, no~?" Elsword shuddered. "Me? Look like him? Ha! Never!" Aisha nodded. "He does..." Elsword shook his head. "Look, I look nothing like him!" As if to prove his point, Elsword picked Erasmus up, pointing at his face. The funny thing was that they looked pretty much identical. Upon seeing this, Elsword tripped over his feet, face planting on the floor, promptly dropping Erasmus with him. Rena tilted her head. "What's wrong?" Elsword groaned. "I look like the weirdo..." Aisha laughed, twirling her wand, using her magic to carry out the blonde swordsman. "Well, suck it up, Elbaka!"

Outside, Adaire sighed. "Damn you, Erasmus! You've gone and gotten yourself freaking captured. Do I have to do everything for you?!" Waving her pink lantern about imperiously, Adaire glared at the cave. And waited. Sighing, she looked down at her lantern, and noticed that there was a piece of it missing. She stomped her foot in frustration. "DAMN YOU, GLUTTONY! I KNOW YOU'RE A GLUTTON FOR POWERFUL AND THAT I'M POWERFUL, BUT DON'T GO STEALING ALL OF MY STUFF!" Stomping her foot, the cliff beneath her began to crack.

Aisha looked at Rena. "He's from an alternate universe." Elsword blinked. "How can you tell?" Aisha rolled her eyes. "I told you, his energy signature. Which," she continued, intercepting the question she knew would come, "Is the pattern your energy - your life El, really - makes whenever you use a special skill or magic. Now, this guy has the exact same energy signature as you, Elsword, which is impossible." Elsword blinked. "Why's that?" Rena smiled brightly. "That would mean that there is another Elsword running around in this world. Even clones have a different energy signal, because their life came from somewhere else, and because they are a different person from you." Elsword nodded. "So, since he has my energy signature, you say he came from an alternate dimension?" Aisha nodded. "Exactly. Only alternate versions of yourself could have the same energy signature. And it has been proven that there are alternate dimensions, although playing around with them is dangerous." Rena sighed, absently petting Erasmus' head. "How did he get over here, though?" Aisha shrugged. "Beats me. Someone would've had to have opened a portal of some sort that connects both dimensions, and then they would have to get him to cross over in one piece. Both would be amazing feats." Elsword sighed. "We'll figure that out later. What do we do with him?"

Aisha blinked. "I don't know..." Rena giggled, and pulled out a silky looking leaf from her pack. "First off, we should fix him up." Elsword raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, fix him up? We were the ones being beaten badly, not him." Aisha rolled her eyes. "Did you not notice the injuries he sustained while blocking my attacks? He has poor magic resistance."Rena nodded. "That's why I offered to take out the Lizardmen Shamans for her, because she could deal the most damage with her attacks." Without further words, Rena carefully made Erasmus eat the leaf. "Afterwards, we should make him tell us things." Aisha nodded. "I'd like to know how he got over here, and if he brought that Brenna with him." Elsword nodded. "For now, let's wait until wakes up."

Oriole walked down the dimly lit halls of the base, coming across Twilia talking to a boy with black hair, dark eyes, and dark armor with a red tie, fiddling with several digital screens that flitted around his head as he spoke. "Huang." The boy with black hair turned around. "Oriole. What brings you here?" Oriole sighed. "Adaire said that you took a crucial component from her caduceus." Huang rolled his eyes. "Modified caduceus. Besides, I needed it to complete my weaponry upgrades." Oriole sighed. "You have so much wasted power." Huang shrugged. "Greed's just going to steal it from someone else. I mean, that's what she intended to do when she created the darkness that now covers the land with _him_. It's all just so she can steal someone else's power." Oriole narrowed his eyes. "Gluttony, you will remember not to waste other people's powers like you do with yourself." Huang chortled. "Cool it, Wrath. _He _will keep me in line if you're so worried about me." Oriole frowned. "You've been warned." Turning around, Oriole stalked angrily out of the room. Twilia yawned. "Ah, so much to do. We're busy, busy, busy!" She stretched. "It's about time to load the ships. Contact Raven, will you?" Huang nodded. "Will do."

* * *

Me: HELLO EVERYONE! I'M BACK! I know that I've been MIA, but I've been really busy and tired and had some writers block!

Aisha: It's true. She was actually supposed to play Elsword with Kiyo the other day, but fell asleep instead! XD

Me: O/O YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM THAT! But, I'm glad that I'm back!

Rena: Summer's almost here!

Me: Yup~ I love summer! Just not the heat...

Raven: So you finally mentioned me. :D

Me: Sure did :D It'll take one or two more chapters before you're officially introduced as a character, though...

Raven: :(

Ara: People have been telling you that you have a lot of OCs...

Me: I do! There aren't enough NPCs in Elsword, and I think it'd be weird for the Elgang to not communicate with anyone, and I hate using terms like 'The first person said... The second girl looked at the third girl...' etc. It just seems weird. Of course, I'll use terms like that, but I normally just turn them into an OC :P

Eve: You had something else to say?

Me: OH YEAH! Ahem. I have decided that the poll to decide the pairing for my one shot will end... TODAY!

Everyone but me and Eve: WHAT!?

Me: You heard me! There weren't a lot of people voting, plus I already put in the names, so... Yeah...

Chung: What's the pairing?

Me: Not telling :P You'll have to read to find out!

Rena: Please R&R, everyone~!

Elsword: The more you review the faster she'll update. See you next chapter!

Love y'all! Chu~


	10. Chapter 10: Push the Limit

**THE AUTHOR NOTE AT THE END IS IMPORTANT, IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A CHANCE AT WINNING YOURSELF A ONESHOT! SO READ IT!**

* * *

Erasmus woke up with a slight groan, his blood-red eyes snapping open faster than Aisha expected. Letting out a feminine shriek, she scrambled backwards, only to have chair she was sitting on tip backwards and fall flat on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. Rena giggled, trying to contain her laughter, while Elsword collapsed with laughter. "Oh man, did you really just fall out of your chair?!" Aisha blushed, sitting up briskly. "S-SHUT UP!" Rena giggled once more, and turned to a very confused looking Erasmus. "So sorry about that~ So, what's your name?" "..." He glared coldly at the trio, his eyes scanning the room for openings or his weapons. To his dismay and enjoyment, there were plenty of both. He was seated on a bed, his weapons neatly stacked on a nearby table, and not a single person in the room carried their weapons on them. Were they stupid, or were they incredibly cunning? Aisha grinned. "Don't bother trying to run, I've cast a binding spell on you. You'll be staying right there for a while." Erasmus sighed. Yep, they were cunning. Elsword scowled. "You look like me, and Aisha said you came from another dimension. Who are you? You're me from another dimension, right?" Erasmus kept his mouth shut, a cold look plastered across his face. "No matter what you do, I won't say anything. I don't fear pain." Elsword glowered. "You better say something." Rena sighed. "He's obviously not going to talk." Erasmus nodded. "You got that right, you old, lazy cow who dares to call herself a warrior of the mighty Elven race." Both Aisha and Elsword stiffened as Rena giggled darkly. Erasmus recoiled, all his instincts telling him to run, but he couldn't move due to the magic cast on him. Soon, the scantily clad elf was fuming.

"You..." Erendil was out. That meant that Rena was serious. Very serious. "I don't know who on Elrios you are, why you're here, how you got here, or what you're doing, but no one, and I mean no one calls me a cow." Her eyes slightly unfocused, cold laughter spilling from her lips as she raised the blade. "You have the nerve to call me a false Elven warrior, hmm?" Fire suddenly burned in her eyes. "You have five seconds to apologize before you're dead." Aisha scooted backwards, trembling. Elsword had covered his head, eye alight with fear and scuttled under a table. Erasmus gulped. "S-SORRY!" Rena suddenly grinned. "Okay~" Her face darkened. "Never do it again." Erasmus shuddered. Never in his life had he been so afraid until now. Aisha sighed, still looking a bit shaken. "Can you at least tell us your name?" "..." Elsword scowled. "You. Stop. Ignoring. Me!" Aisha hit him over the head. "Stop ignoring you?! You haven't said anything yet!" Elsword glared at her, rubbing his head. "You stupid grape! I was asking him so many questions through my thoughts! You said that we were alternate versions of each other, right? Then he should've heard me!" Aisha hit him again. "YOU IDIOT! THINGS DON'T WORK LIKE THAT!" Elsword glared at her. "HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?!" Aisha stuck out her tongue. "SHUT UP, ELBAKA!" Erasmus sighed. Aisha's eyes suddenly lit up. "Elsword, let's argue later, 'kay? I just had an epiphany." Elsword titled his head. "A what?" Aisha ignored him, rummaging through her bag. "Ah-ha!"

Triumphantly, Aisha held up a vial full of clear, sparkling liquid that glowed dimly with a pastel blue light. Elsword wrinkled his nose with distaste. "What in the name of the Lady El is that?" Aisha rolled her eyes. "Have you not seen El-infused liquids before?" Elsword tilted his head. "Why would we need that?" Aisha sighed. "Elsword. Do you know what El does at all?" "Uh… It purifies stuff?" Aisha nodded, continuing as if she were talking to a small child. "Right. And your alternate version is…?" Elsword scratched his head. "Uh… Evil?" Aisha nodded. "Good. So, if your alternate version is evil, and the El purifies things, what'll happen if we pour it all over your alternate self?" Elsword paused to think. "It'll purify him?" Aisha nodded. "That's right. And by purifying him, hopefully he'll talk." Without further ado, Aisha proceeded to open up the vial and splash its contents all over Erasmus, drenching him in the blue liquid. Erasmus glared at her. "What in the name of the Lady El was that for?!" Aisha tilted her head. "I thought it would've worked by now…" She then pulled out another bottle of El-infused liquid and dumped it over Erasmus. He spluttered slightly, glaring at Aisha. "Will you–" Another vial of El-infused liquid was dumped over his head. "Stop it–" More El-infused liquid. "I said–" Yet another vial of El-infuse liquid was sloshed all over him. Erasmus growled. "Where are you even getting all of this stuff from!?" Aisha shrugged. "The store down the road has a lot of this stuff." As if to spite him even further, Aisha casually splashed him with more of the thick, glowing liquid.

Rena tilted her head. "Do you need a towel, um… Other Elsword?" Erasmus sighed. "No." Rena nodded. Elsword stared intently at him. "I still don't see how you're me but from another place. You're just… too different from me. Much too different." Rena giggled. "Elsword, only clones are the same as you are. Alternate versions could be very different, but they normally blend with each other in some ways." Aisha nodded before tossing more El-infused liquid on Erasmus. "Will you stop it already!? It isn't going to work." Aisha sighed. "I thought it would definitely work, though… It worked the last time my master needed answers from a monster." Erasmus rolled his eyes. "I'm not a monster, so your El-liquid-thingy won't purify me." Elsword stared at his alternate self. "Tell me your name, at least." Erasmus sighed. "…Erasmus." Rena smiled gently. "So, Erasmus… Will you tell us what's going on here?" "…" "Please?" "…" She sighed, before putting her hands on her hips. "Listen here, Erasmus. We just want to know what's going on that way when people start dying; we don't have to tell them that it's nothing or that we don't know what on Elrios is going on, either." "…The end."

Aisha tilted her head. "What?" Erasmus looked at her, his blood-red eyes glittering. "The end of your universe is coming. _He _is making sure of it." Elsword leaned in. "Who is 'he?'" Erasmus chuckled icily. "That I can't tell you. I do know that _he_ likes a bit of a game, but then again, _he_ doesn't. I can tell you your next move, if you do something for me." Elsword smirked. "And what would that be?" Erasmus smirked back.

"Kill me."

Aisha recoiled, taken by surprise. "What?!" Erasmus nodded. "I might be here, but I don't want to be here. Heh, I think your damn El-liquid did purify me slightly." Rena pressed her lips together in a thin line. "…Can you tell us a bit more about this… end?" Erasmus looked at her. "El is needed to live. When the El is gone, nothing can live. _He_ wants to remake Elrios, _he_ wants to destroy Elrios, and _he_ wants to rule Elrios. I can't tell you the ultimate goal of taking the El or where they're going to keep it. I was never told that much. What I can tell you is that there's an airship due to leave Bethma. This airship… It has the El stones that you seek. Now hurry up and kill me." Aisha blinked. "Are you sure?" Erasmus smirked, leaning back. "Ah, I'm so jealous of your pure heart… and of your friendship, and of how carefree you are…" Smirking, his eyes glinted dangerously. "I guess I'll just have to ruin you, then."

Grabbing Aisha's arm, Erasmus whispered something under his breath, and magical fire appeared in her hand. "What…?" Rena looked at her, panic flashing in her emerald eyes. "Put it out." Aisha's eyes widened. "I can't!" Elsword pulled Aisha backwards, the fire in her palm extinguishing almost immediately. Flames climbed up Erasmus' arms, charring his skin and burning away his flesh, leaving behind the disgusting smell of singed human. Erasmus grinned eerily, not making a sound despite the flames eating away at him. "I lied. I know more, but now you'll never know." Laughing to himself, the flames rose to his head. Elsword's eyes glittered with something akin to fear as he watched himself, albeit from a different realm, be consumed by the flames.

* * *

Adaire sighed, watching Erasmus burn through her lantern. "Erasmus' gone to hell." Oriole scoffed, flicking black hair out of his eyes. "Really. How inconvenient." Brenna was seated on the floor, eyes unfocused, petting her bluebird, as usual. "Erasmus… He really loved to make things hard for everyone else, didn't he?" She giggled slightly. "He was a fool, though. Erasmus was fully aware that he was the favorite of _him_. And then he threw his position away." Flicking open her fan, Brenna glared at Adaire. "Somebody go contact Huang. Really, how annoying of Erasmus. Now we have to re-divide all the work up, and make extra calculations." Adaire rolled her eyes. "You don't have the right to boss me around." Oriole rubbed his temples. "Just do it. Brenna normally knows what she's talking about." Brenna grinned smugly, looking very satisfied with herself as Adaire scowled. Turning around, Adaire left the stone cavern, glaring at both Oriole and Brenna before she left. "Brenna." Said girl looked up, her eyes refocusing. "Hmm?" Oriole folded his arms. "Where's Ava?" Brenna giggled darkly. "So, you want to set her into play? Ava's busy playing servant for _him_." Oriole's eyes glinted. "Go find her and tell her to get her lazy ass out there and start doing some of the dirty work." Brenna shrugged. "Okay~" She stood up, curtsying mockingly to Oriole before leaving.

* * *

Aisha peered around outside of the inn. "There's the airship Erasmus mentioned." Elsword looked outside, seeing a massive structure floating through the sky over the reddish rocky cliffs of Bethma. "You sure recovered quick after my… his death." Aisha glanced at Elsword, her eyes darkening. "He is not you. Plus, I haven't recovered. I'm just trying to busy myself with something else so I can hopefully forget." Elsword nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "Okay. First off, how do we even get up to the ship?" Rena suddenly appeared in the doorframe, squeezing past Elsword and Aisha to stand on the rusty-red plains. "Two things: One, either stay inside the inn or come out, you're blocking others. Two, There's a particularly high peak over there. It looks like the cargo ship is going to pass by it, so if we can get there quickly enough, we might be able to get onto the ship." Elsword looked at the peak Rena pointed at, stepping outside to join her. The lone spire was twisted at a demented angle, rivulets of gray as wide as a horse – maybe larger, he couldn't tell from the distance – cascading down the sides, a fiery red glow emanating from one of the many caverns pocketing its sides. "Isn't that called Dragon's Nest?" Aisha said. Rena shrugged. "Right now I think it's the least of our worries." Aisha nodded, twirling her wand around. "Woah there, grape head. Are you insane? There's no way you'll be able to teleport that distance, and even then, there's still me and Rena." Aisha rolled her eyes.

"Elbaka, I've been studying spatial magic. I think I can handle it." A dim purplish glow formed around her staff, getting stronger and stronger with each twirl until it was almost unbearable to look at, burning its light into the minds of anyone who looked at it.

Suddenly, the light disappeared. Blinking, Elsword gazed at his new surroundings. They were standing on top of the mountain, reddish dust swirling around their feet as the craggy rocks loomed over the horizon. He gaped. "How did you get us up here?!" Aisha simply snorted, whacking Elsword over the head with her lolita staff. "Stupid! It's called TELEPORTATION. Do I need to spell it out for you?"

* * *

Me: …

Aisha: Pun not intended.

Elsword: OR WAS IT?!

Eve: -.- *slaps Elsword*

* * *

Rena sighed, craning her heck to look further around the mountain, perched precariously on a large boulder that jutted over the edge of the surface they were standing on, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. "Guys, I know that it's important for you two to constantly court each other, but can you come over here? We kinda need to jump to get onto that airship which is almost here." Aisha's violet eyes widened, leaping into action, dragging Elsword over to where Rena was in a split second. Rena grinned as the airship slowly passed by, picking up Elsword with ease. "WHAT ON ELRIOS ARE YOU DOING, RENA?!" Rena giggled. "Let's see how aerodynamic you are, Els~" Elsword began to flail about. "WHAT?! NO!" Before he could complain any further, Rena chucked him at the airship. He screamed, sailing through the air, before latching onto the railing, pulling himself over onto the deck of the ship with much trouble, heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Aisha forced a smile onto her face as Rena turned to her. "I'll just teleport." Nodding, Rena took a few steps back, before leaping through the air, landing next to Elsword, smiling. Aisha tapped the ground once with her staff, appearing next to Rena. Elsword glared at them. "I hate you." Rena smiled. "I love you too, Elsword~ Now, let's go find the El."

* * *

Huang sighed, watching the Black Crow sail over top of the ocean, slowly making its way to Bethma, where they would intercept the airship carrying the El stones that _he_ needed. He turned to a squat, pudgy man with a black gas mask on. "Well? Where is Raven?" The man shuddered. "Captain Raven should be here any minute now." As if on cue, the door was flung open, an obnoxious boom ringing throughout the room. "You wanted me?" Huang nodded, dismissing the man, who scurried out of the room. "Raven. How's your arm?" A tall man with spikey black hair and golden eyes clad in dark pants and even darker boots scowled. "You ask me that, of all things." He folded his arms, covering one of the many dark scars that blemished his tanned chest, his left arm gleaming metallically, the claws that acted as his fingers glinting maliciously. Huang chuckled. "Seris." Raven's eyes widened, his brows furrowing in pain as a strangled scream escaped his throat. Huang watched with amusement as Raven collapsed to the floor, clutching his Nasod arm, gasps and shrieks coming from him. He sighed, walking over and tapped his left arm. "You really do have a strong mind, Raven. It's not working properly again."

Pulling out a small toolkit, Huang unscrewed a small panel in the side of Raven's arm, tinkering around in it for a bit, causing Raven to scream with pain. Finally finding what he wanted, Huang removed a wire, replacing it with a brand new one. Closing the panel, Huang stood up, dusting off his pants. "Raven." Raven looked up, all signs of pain erased from his face. "What is it, Huang?" Huang smirked. "Seris." Raven growled. "I will destroy Velder." Nodding, Huang turned towards the front of the Black Crow, pointing at an approaching air craft, its jaunty white-and-blue hull glinting in the sunlight. "That holds the key to destroying Velder, the El stones. Go get them." Raven nodded mechanically, before turning towards a brass, trumpet-shaped object protruding from the wall of the bridge. Pressing a black button next to it, Raven began to shout out orders. "All crew members aboard the Black Crow! Our target has been sighted, a cargo ship from Bethma! Prepare to intercept and retrieve the El! Do whatever you wish to the cargo ship once we have retrieved said El, but if even a single piece is missing, you will be publicly executed for mutiny and treason! That is all!" Whipping around, Raven marched past Huang, attending the wheel of the ship as many more men in black gas masks filled into the bridge of the ship. Huang grinned, before tapping something on a screen that he brought up. A loud tearing sound echoed throughout the room, before a large, black portal appeared, sucking Huang up before closing itself. Raven turned back to the incoming cargo ship. "I will soon be able to destroy Velder."

* * *

Now we skip all the way to the proclaimed base of our antagonists. In a cavernous mountain, past all the twisting halls and large rooms that were filled with all sorts of frightening things, whether it was chalk circles that created Forbidden Reapers, a startlingly large amount of bluebirds that were constantly chirping their indignation of being kept inside said mountain, prison cells that held – well, prisoners, and many, many armories and workshops, was one fairly bare cavern, adorned with nothing but a few small torches lining the wall, a wooden table holding a chalice and pitcher full of water, and a plain chair. The chair, although it was simply made of stygian black wood, it seemed to emit some sort of frightening aura, one that someone would expect to feel coming from something like the gates of hell, or some monstrous creature that wouldn't die no matter what was thrown at it, the most terrifying presence of evil.

Brenna skipped into said cavern almost cheerfully, her black hair waving slightly. Giggling, she took the chalice, carefully placing a single slightly reddened feather in it, watching as the water slowly dissolved it, making it quite clear that whatever was inside the chalice and pitcher was not water at all, but something much different. A shadowy figure entered the cavern, his face being obscured by dark clouds. "Brenna, what are you doing?" Brenna smirked, not even bothering to acknowledge the new figure, picking up the chalice and swirling it around a bit, mixing in the dissolved feather. "Ava was sent to replace Erasmus." As if to answer an unspoken question, Brenna sighed. "He died, the annoying brat." The figure nodded. "So, you've prepared my drink for me, then?" Brenna turned around, extending the drink out to him. "We can't have you getting weaker on us, can we, _brother_?" The figure sighed, taking the cup from her, making his way over to the chair, sitting down, folding one leg over the other. "I told you not to call me that, Brenna. We are not, in any way, related, besides the fact that you are a servant of mine." Brenna flicked her fan open as the figure began to drink. "Without me you would not have the power you have now." He sighed, lowering his cup. "I know. Why do you think I kept you alive? You are still useful to me now." Brenna scowled. "Enough." Turning around, she exited the cavern, but not before shooting a vicious look over her shoulder at the man, venom filling her eyes. The man sighed, swirling his drink around in his cup. "Soon it will all be over… That is, not only for those irritating travelers, but also for Elrios." Sipping his drink, the man continued to brood on his wooden throne, watching as his plan was put into action.

* * *

Me: *slams door open* I'M BAAAACK~! :P

Elgang: *looks up from whatever they were doing* EH?! YOU'RE BACK ALREADY?! _ ;;

Me: Hush. Is eight days not enough?

Elsword: *nods and promptly gets slapped by me*

Rena: W-Welcome back~ How was Montreal? ^^;;

Me: ... My poor feet. I had to walk so much.

Raven: And you apparently had a competition. How did it go?

Me: Hehehehe... I CREAMED EVERYONE ELSE! :D

Aisha: Note to self: Don't get Rosa mad.

Eve: You were going to introduce something with this chapter?

Me: OH YEAH! Thanks for reminding me, Eve. So everyone, do you want me to write you a... ONESHOT WITH A PAIRING OF YOUR CHOICE? (Hopefully not Reve, I hate that pairing)

Readers: *nods*

Me: Raven, explain it for me.

Raven: *holds up extensive diagram* So, Rosa's decided that every time her story hits 10 chapters (5 chapters for shorter stories, for oneshots it'll just be at the bottom) she's going to put up a question about this story, either a total guesstimation question or a fact-based question, and the first person to answer it correctly in their review win the oneshot! Answers will be posted the following chapter.

Ara: An important note: The questions will come randomly at the end of the following chapters, so she's basically making you read this shit here :P

Me: *hits Ara with a hammer* Hush child. They don't need to know that. AND NOW FOR TODAY'S QUESTION!

Q: What song am I listening to right now?

Elgang: -.-

Me: Just kidding! :D This is the actual question. It'll be easy because it's the first one!

Q: Where is Elsa/Elesis? (I'm going to have to change her name now in all of my stories... Dang)

Me: Good luck my pretties!

Ara: Don't forget to R&R, please!

Chung: HEY! It was my turn to say that!

Ara: Suck it up, Iron Princess XD

Chung:Q.Q

Me: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\o/~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHARK ATTACK!

Aisha: Wat.

Eve: What on Elrios does this have to do with anything?

Me: *shrugs* Meh, I felt like it. Guess what, the person being eaten is Chung! :P

Chung: WHAT IS IT, PICK ON CHUNG DAY?!

Me: ... Anyways, see you next chapter, and good luck answering that question! Love y'all!

Elgang: CHU~

Me: *twitches* Excuse me? Did you guys REALLY just steal MY LINE that is MY LINE EXCLUSIVELY?!

Elgang: SORRY! T_T


	11. Chapter 11: The Black Crow

Verdant eyes peered out from around the shadows, darting around, taking in their surroundings. A wisp of blonde hair fluttered out, before disappearing completely into the depths of the ship. Rena turned to her two companions, smiling. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of guards out and about." Aisha snorted dryly, glancing at the large pile of guards both she and Elsword had previously knocked out. "You don't say." Rena chuckled. "You do realize that there will be more guards, right? If the El is on this ship, then there will be quite a bit of security." Aisha nodded, darting out of the shadows to behind a smaller pillar. Elsword hissed. "What are you doing, grape head?!" Aisha rolled her eyes. "Watch and learn, Elbaka." As a guard walked by, Aisha stealthily slipped out from behind the pillar, grabbing a fairly large key ring off of the guard's pants, not even the slightest jingling noise emitting as she slid back to her shadowy retreat. Rena nodded in approval, nocking a gleaming emerald twig in her bow, drawing a curious glance from both Elsword and Aisha. Smiling cheerily, Rena let the twig fly. It struck the guard in the back, exploding with a muffled 'boom.' The guard collapsed to the ground, knocked out instantly. "Let's go now~" She sang out softly, grabbing Elsword and dashing down the hallway, forcing Aisha to rush after them.

Skidding to a stop, Rena pointed at a rather large, ebon door, with an intricate design on it. "Aisha, try opening that door with one of the keys," Elsword whispered. Aisha nodded, creeping over to the door, fitting a key carefully into the lock. With a soft click, the door unlocked. Pushing it open, the door slid open without so much as a squeak. A stout man with an iron-gray beard stared back at her. "What?!" Elsword peered over Aisha. "Oh, hey Wally. We were just leaving." Grabbing Aisha, they dashed through the corridors of the ship, listening to Wally screech vehemently. "Of _all_ the doors you choose to open, Wally's behind it!" Elsword snorted. "With the fancy design, it made sense!" Rena sighed, softly chiding them. "Now, now." Drawing Erendil, Rena expertly slashed a robotic bee-thing in half. "Argue later, children." Elsword nodded, unsheathing both swords with a wide slice, the sheer force of said slice ripping through another enemy. Aisha grumbled softly, twirling her wand once, teleporting behind an enemy, her staff slamming down on its head, its head caving in, wires sparking everywhere.

A sudden, violent rocking overcame the ship, like a rather large infant had picked it up and began started waving it around. Stumbling, Elsword clutched a railing, more robotic creatures sliding down the halls of the ship, looking – if that was possible – rather disgruntled, not expecting the sudden shaking. Rena fired a twig, but a sudden shake of the ship knocked it off its course. Without batting an eyelash, she snapped her fingers, the entire twig exploding, knocking the Nasods off their feet. More violent tremors made the ship rock violently, knocking everyone – human, elf, and Nasod alike – off of their feet, sending them tumbling into walls, crashing into one another. Wally's voice crackled over the intercom. "We need to transfer the El in a few minutes! Take care of the intruders already!"

Aisha visibly face-palmed. "The idiot."

Elsword dashed forward, Cornwell in hand, slashing up the remaining upright Nasods, before nodding to his female companions. "Let's go already!" Rena nodded, dashing down the halls. "I saw a map somewhere back there, to get to the main deck…" She kicked a door off of its hinges. "We go through here!" Aisha was a step ahead of her, slipping through the open door and firing a massive, spinning ball of purple and pink energy at the guards, followed by a wind-guided slash from Rena, effectively cleaning up the remainder of the Nasod guards. Elsword gaped, pointing ahead of them, totally speechless. "Elbaka? You okay?" Craning her neck, Aisha's jaw dropped open, spotting what caused Elsword to be even more brain-dead than he already was.

A massive black air ship that looked outfitted for war was hovering next to the much smaller cargo ship. Stationary guns lined the gleaming mahogany rails, and she could sense that they were re-enforced with magic. Rena yelped quietly, stepping to the side, obviously not wanting the barrel of a cannon pointing in her face. In gold, elaborate writing, the name of the ship was printed on the side of the great beast of a ship.

The Black Crow.

Swivelling his head around, Elsword spotted Wally further down the ship's deck, a Nasod guard on either side, grinning rather smugly at the black ship in front of him. Behind him in a giant, transparent container – it obviously wasn't made of glass, but Elsword didn't know what it was – that radiated with power, the soft, chartreuse glow of the Elven El mixing with the bright gold of Elder's El, the sky blue El of Ruben resting slightly further away from the rest, surrounded by a mountain of El shards of all colors, blue, red, orange, gold, and green. Wally motioned to the pile. "Is this satisfying enough, _Raven_?" Rena turned bent over to whisper to both Elsword and Aisha. "That's the captain of the Black Crow." Her gentle grin stiffened slightly. "He's killed many, many people, along with the rest of his crew." A tall, tanned man with raven black hair and piercing golden eyes stepped forwards. Elsword hadn't seen him before, as he was almost blending into the shadows. His eyes flickered over to a vicious-looking metallic arm, black metal gleaming ominously, claw like fingers clenching and unclenching. "No."

Wally looked visibly stunned, probably not registering the fact that small, stout men in pressed grey uniforms and black gas masks had snuck around him and were pulling the El stones to a small ramp that had folded out of the ship. "What more could you want?!"

Raven smirked coldly, before sprinting up to Wally at an incredible speed, metal arm outstretched, piercing straight through Wally's gut. Elsword felt his own gut wrench, while Aisha visibly gagged, Rena turning as white as a sheet. A low, cold chuckle flowed out from Raven, his arm going all the way through Wally. "I need to get rid of the witnesses. After all, a petty _lord_ like you would probably demand money in exchange for keeping quiet." Ripping his arm from Wally's stomach, a fine, crimson mist splattered the area, glittering like rubies in the sunlight, creating a sickening, twisted display of beauty. Wally's eyes widened, unfocused, as he slumped to the ground with a thud that seemed deafening, blood pouring out from his stomach into a gruesome pool. Raven sighed, flicking the blood off of his arm, motioning to one of the small, gas-masked men. "Load the El quickly. We will need to remove the evidence." Rena shook her head, breaking the trance that had befallen the three of them. "We need to get on the Black Crow. And quick." Aisha took in a shuddering breath, tearing her eyes away from the bloodied corpse, examining the ship. "I know how we can get in, but you won't like it…" Elsword turned to Aisha. "Just tell us! From what I heard, this ship's going to blow the second the Black Crow takes off!" Aisha snorted.

"I know, Elbaka." She pointed to the massive cannon. "We're going to go in through there." Rena grinned. "This'll be interesting~" Holding her hands out, Rena helped Aisha up, as she was too short to reach the edge of the cannon herself. Blushing, Aisha crawled down the barrel, followed by Elsword, Rena bringing up the rear.

Elsword coughed, stirring up a coarse, black cloud of grime. "It smells like gunpowder in here," He whined. Aisha rolled her eyes. "That's because we're in a cannon, you idiot. Now shut up, someone might hear us." Reaching the other end of the cannon, Aisha pushed up on the metal flap that covered the opening of the cannon, peeking out tentatively. They were in a fairly dark room, the only light coming from gaps in the ship where the barrels of the cannons peaked out from the metal hull of the ship, the room extending a good thirty feet, piles of cannon balls littered around the room. "It looks like no one is here," She whispered, clambering awkwardly out of the cannon. Elsword's head popped up like a gopher. "This place is bigger than I thought." A muffled noise of irritation came from further down the cannon. "Hurry up Elsword! This cannon is a bit too stuffy for my liking." Elsword grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Rena." Flopping down beside Aisha, Rena climbed out with ease, her legs stained black with soot. "Oh my, Elsword, it looks like you colored you hair~!" Aisha giggled, her eyes flicking over Elsword's now black hair, random streaks of red running through it, making him look like Frankenstein's bride. "You stupid grape! You're covered in dirt, too!" Looking down, Aisha indeed saw that her once pristine magenta and pale pink dress was now covered in soot, dying it a strange blackened pink.

Footsteps caught Rena's attention, and she whipped around, sword drawn, smiling frostily at one of the many gas-masked men. If it was possible, he paled. "G-G-GHOSTS!" Shrieking, the man scurried down the gun room corridor, but was quickly silenced by a well-placed energy ball to the head. Brushing the dirt off of them, Elsword lead the way, walking silently down the surprisingly well-lit corridors, the metallic walls gleaming slightly, before they came to the main platform. Before anyone could choose their course of action, lo and behold, Raven walked around the corner, coming face to face with the trio. Obviously they were terrible at stealth, being caught twice in one day. His face went through a range of emotion, first anger, then a cold, calculating look. Golden eyes swept over them, before settling on Rena, his face turning ashen, pure shock written all over his face. Aisha looked at Rena before stepping backwards carefully, looking back at Raven with confusion. He ignored both Elsword and Aisha, striding down the beige deck, eyes wide with astonishment, a small glimmer of fear passing through his eyes as he approached Rena.

"…Seris?"

Rena blinked, confusion filling her eyes as she tilted her head. Gray-faced, Raven began to mutter. "I'm so sorry none of this should ever have happened I don't know what's going on Seris I'm sorry Seris I'm sorry Seris, I'm so, so sorry…" Suddenly, his eyes refocused, head snapping up, blade drawn in a split second. "No. Who are you, and how did you get on this ship?" Elsword reacted first, turning on his heels and running as fast as he could away from Raven, not liking the sudden change of character. Aisha, eyes wide with confusion and fear, twirled her wand, cloaking herself almost instantly, leaving Rena to fend for herself. "Eh he he he~ You see…" Instead of answering, Rena twirled to the side, landing a firm kick to Raven's head, before running to catch up with Elsword. Stumbling, Raven held his head, looking around wildly. "…What? Where is this? Seris? What's happening…?" Elsword stopped in his tracks, watching as Raven's arm trembled as he studied his left Nasod arm, a sudden flood of sorrow filling him. "…I remember now…" Raven looked up, eyes fixing on Rena for a split second. "You're not Seris…"

A tremor ran through his body, before he looked up at both Rena and Elsword (Aisha was still in hiding) and raised his sword. "You still have not answered me. Who are you, and how did you get on this ship? No matter. I will kill you anyway."

Elsword drew his swords. "Rena, be careful." She nodded, drawing her own sword. "I know, he's dangerous." Elsword shook his head. "No, he's being mind controlled. Did you not see those random outbursts where he seemed human?" Rena nodded. "That's why he's dangerous. If you have no mind, you have no sense of self, which means you will do anything without feeling pain or regard for others." Raven growled. "Enough chatting." Dashing forwards, he clashed blades with Elsword, pushing him back with sheer strength. Extending his Nasod arm, a massive ball of fire and steam appeared, firing it at Rena with shocking speed. Rena ducked, firing a twig at Raven, leaving a path of several more twigs in its wake. Elsword caught the hidden message; raising Cornwell and making several more Cornwells appear, striking downwards at Raven. Stepping backwards to block the attacks, Raven stepped on a twig, making it explode, but with much less power. He growled. "If you two attack me with less than your full strength, you're never going to beat me." Sidestepping, he chopped down at Rena, who blocked with Erendil in the nick of time.

Raven flipped over, landing on Elsword, flattening him to the ground. Growling, Elsword rolled over, forcing Raven off of him, crossing his swords in an X shape, thousands of Cornwells, creating a shield in the same formation, blocking Raven's attack. Snarling, Raven dealt a powerful punch with his Nasod arm, breaking through the shield and hitting Elsword in the face. Rena calmly nocked an arrow, aiming quickly before letting it fly, only to have it blocked skillfully by Raven, who dashed over, slicing at Rena. Rena leapt to the side, her black hair ribbon being cut loose, letting her blonde hair fly around wildly. Momentarily blinded, Rena didn't see Raven's Nasod arm reach until it was wrapped around her throat, lifting her up in the air in a choking death grip. Flailing about, Rena gasped for air, clawing at the metal hand around her throat. Elsword dashed up, swinging both of his swords, growling as Raven blocked them one-handed. Growling, Elsword backed up a bit, throwing Cornwell forwards. "Let go of Rena, you bastard!" The ground erupted in a storm of Cornwells, dragging Raven in as the swords flew around in a frenzied panic, slicing at Raven as he was thrown around, dropping Rena.

Rena gasped for air, before focusing in on Elsword's attack. "Cornwell… He's turned black," She whispered, her eyes darting to follow a lone, black Cornwell that flew around with the others.

Once the sword storm died down, Raven stood up somewhat shakily, looking battered up, but standing nonetheless. "I told you, if you hold back, you won't beat me." Rena stood up, still gasping for air. "We… need to… knock him out!" Raven laughed bitterly. "You can't even knock me down for more than three seconds. How are you going –" He was cut off abruptly as Aisha appeared behind him, slamming her staff down on his head with a crack, not hard enough to kill him, but enough to make him pass out from the impact. Elsword glared at her. "Why didn't you do that earlier?!" Aisha rubbed the back of her head. "I got lost…" He didn't seem to like that answer, and fumed, steam practically pouring out of his ears. "You got LOST?! There's only TWO WAYS YOU CAN GO, YOU STUPID GRAPE! HOW DID YOU GET _LOST_?!" Aisha blushed beet red, before biting out her own retort. "Well, excuse me for deciding to see where this ship is headed! HONESTLY, you underappreciate me! If you were nice to me for even a second, ELBAKA, then I'd tell you where this ship is headed, but _no_, you just _had_ to go and blow it!" Rena giggled, tentatively picking up Raven's human arm, looking unsure of how to carry him around. "It's really cute watching you two flirt, but we kind of need to get him somewhere where his crew won't see him~" Elsword sighed, eyeing the taller, more well-built man. "This will be annoying."

* * *

Oriole slammed his hands down on a wooden table. "What in the name of the Lady El is going on?! Huang, I thought I told you to cast that curse!" Huang sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, glancing around the sparse cavern. "I did. The brat picked something up, though. Something that likes to absorb evil." Oriole groaned. "Dammit!" He turned to glare at a redhead. "You meddled with this, didn't you?!" Elsa laughed, coughing weakly. "Stupid… Elsword won't… fall that easily," She rasped. He growled. "So I see." He turned to Huang, eyes flashing dangerously. "Up the power." Huang sighed, nodding. "'Kay." With a curt nod, he turned on his heels, sulking away childishly. Oriole scowled, folding his hands, deep in thought. "It's time to make our next move."

* * *

Me: ...Hi...

Elgang: WHERE WERE YOU?! :(

Me: I can explain. Long story short, random family get togethers, forced babysitting, and helping others with summer school homework. So yeah... =_=;;

Raven: I feel for you...

Chung: Rosa, you have something to do.

Ara: Besides sulk! :D

Me: Okay. Rena, you do it.

Rena: So, last chapter, there was a question that was posted with a chance to win a oneshot~

Me: You guys! I specifically said that it was IN the story!

Eve: Where was the answer in the story? I didn't see it...

Me: Chapter 6, paragraph 5.

Elsa: How could you DX

Me: Meh. Anyway, here's the answer!

A: She is currently within enemy territory in a dire situation, being held captive.

Elsword: And our winner is... RubyCrucifix!

Me: I feel a ElsxEve story coming, with Elsword being an IS :P Just PM me with the pairing, classes if you want, and plot if you want one of your choice.

Aisha: And because Rosa's being lazy, reviewer responses will be very short today.

RubyCrucifix - Congrats on winning! Yep, you got it right. See details above XD OAO HERE IT IS! (Sort of) The curse has only been partially revealed... Hehehehe...

TheCynicalAsian - I'm baaack~ Good guess, but... *random buzzer noise* NOPE! :P Good luck for the next question!

Orithia WindBell: *catches your soul* No flying away! I think you'll hate Brenna more once you know more about her... Raven's A-OK now, so you don't need to punch her just yet XD

xXOmegaWolfXx - Two words: Thank and you!

SeouLee - *blushes* Aww, thank you for the compliment! I think you'll be murdering people by the end of this, though :P Answering the question isn't mandatory, it's just if you want to. Ooh, you actually got the right answer, but... You were the second person to give the answer! So sorry, maybe next time? AND HERE'S THE UPDATE! YAY!

Me: Sometimes I feel like the author's note is longer than the actual chapter XD

Raven: It probably is.

Me: Hush! Anyway...

Ara: Don't forget to R&R!

Chung: And F&F!

Elsword: What's that?

Chung: Favorite and follow.

Aisha: See you all next chapter!

Me: Love y'all! Chu~


	12. Chapter 12: Raven

"Ugh, why is he so heavy?"

"Shush, you're too loud!"

"I think his weight has to do with his arm..."

"No duh, genius."

"What are you three doing with Captain Raven?"

Aisha turned around, smiling coldly. "What did you ask?"

The crew member fiddled with his gas mask, straightening out his uniform. "I asked, what are you three doing with Captain Raven? I've never seen you three before..." He gasped, flailing his sword about. "Could you be kidnapping him?!" Elsword mentally face palmed himself. Rena turned around, before dropping Raven's Nasod arm (Making Aisha and Elsword nearly fall to the ground in the process) and turning around to face the crew member, folding her arms.

"Do you not know who I am?"

The crew member studied her for a moment. "No, not really..." Rena sighed, flicking her hair behind her shoulder, green eyes glinting coldly. Aisha and Elsword looked at each other, thoroughly confused.

"My name is Seris. Do you not remember?!" The crew member dropped his sword in shock, hastily straightening his uniform and standing up properly, bending over to pick up his sword as he quickly tried to look presentable. "I-I'M SO SORRY, MISS SERIS! I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WERE THE CAPTAIN'S FIANCEE!" Rena nodded, quickly checking her hair to make sure it was covering her ears.

"That's me. These two are my personal doctors, as I have a weak body and have recently suffered from a lung disease. Raven collapsed on the deck, and we are just taking him back to his quarters." Elsword was about to protest, but Aisha kicked him in the shin.

"Just go along with it," she hissed, plastering a blank look on her face. Elsword scowled, before doing the same. The poor, frazzled guard fidgeted.

"Well?" Rena said, putting her hands on her hips. "Are you done questioning us or not?" The crew member nodded meekly, before turning around to run down the dark, dank hall, attempting to get out of the awkward situation quickly. Sighing, Rena giggled, lifting up Raven's arm and slinging it around her shoulders, relieving Aisha and Elsword of some of the weight. "I'm sorry for leaving you guys with him... I couldn't think of anything else, really."

Aisha shook her head. "No, your quick thinking really saved us there. I didn't realize that he had a fiancee, though..." Elsword rolled his eyes, lugging Raven down the hallways.

"No one would know that. But, Rena..." Rena tilted her head, turning around a corner in unison with both Aisha and Elsword, Raven still limp.

"What is it, Elsword?"

Elsword huffed. "Well, not to be rude and anything, but... If that guard now thinks that you're this 'Seris,' don't you think he'll go alert the others not to bother you, and then one of the higher-ups will realize that you're just an impostor and send someone to catch us?" Rena paled, her smile looking a bit forced.

"Umm... Yes, they will~" Aisha swore, tugging them along faster.

"Hurry up, you guys! We can't get caught now!" Rushing down the hall as quickly as the passed out Raven would let them, they trio attempted to navigate the very confusing ship. Kicking open a door, Rena sighed as they entered the pilot's cabin.

"Where the El are we on this stupid ship?!" Elsword said, rushing up to the pilot and kicking him in the head. Aisha sighed, whacking Elsword over the head.

"You are SUCH an idiot, you know!" Elsword rolled his eyes, prying open a small cupboard door and tossing out a few packages of silken cloth.

"Grapehead, ever heard of parachutes? Besides, if this is the Black Crow, it'd be better to crash it. These people..." His eyes darkened, flashing dangerously. "They don't deserve to live." Rena shuddered.

_Elsword... Does this change of personality have to do with that black Cornwell I saw?_

Her eyes drifted downwards, examining Cornwell quietly. Green eyes widened as she saw the very tip of Cornwell. Quickly regaining her composure, Rena turned to Elsword. "They may have done lots of terrible deeds, but they can still repent. Besides, parachutes often rip and haven't been proven to be safe..."

_Cornwell... Its tip is blackened, like it's covered in soot, but... That's a magical stain, not soot..._

Elsword scoffed, waving his hand to make Cornwell disappear. "Please. How can anyone repent after all the damage they've caused?! Even Raven, even if he was mind controlled... That doesn't change the fact that he killed people!" Aisha scowled, her grip tightening around her staff.

"Eldork, what on Elrios are you talking about?! Of course -" Rena cut her off with a wave of her hands.

"That's enough, Aisha. Elsword, I have a proposal for you." Elsword raised a crimson eyebrow, signifying that he was listening and she should continue. "How about we set this ship on auto-pilot and send them off to a safe place on Altera for them to crash-land. If they end up going back to their terrorizing ways, we'll come back and wipe them out, but only if we have solid proof that they are killing and stealing again. Deal?" Elsword scowled, thinking over her proposal.

"Alright. Only because you said so, Rena." Rena let out a small sigh of relief, before turning over to the control panel.

"Anyone know how to work this thing?" Aisha walked up, examining the panel. "I might be able to figure this thing out..." Rena beamed.

"Great! Can you work on that while Elsword and I get these parachutes working?" Nodding, Aisha turned to the control panel, her eyes scanning over the buttons, knobs, and flashing lights.

"Okay, so... It seems fairly simple... Dear El! Why couldn't they label their buttons?!" Tugging at her purple ponytails nervously, she nervously reached out and pressed the first button she saw. The button lit up green, a monotonous, robotic voice rang out.

"AUTO PILOT ACTIVATED." Letting out a sigh of relief, Aisha turned around to see Elsword busy getting tangled in the strings of the parachute while Rena had already set three out, and was busy trying to get him untangled.

"We should get going soon... But how will we get Raven down?" Elsword shrugged off the parachute he was tangled in, putting on another one properly.

"Leave it to me. You set it on auto pilot, right? We should get going before we're discovered." Aisha nodded, pointing towards a large floating island that was devoid of green growth, everything a sickly brown or yellow color.

"That's Altera. We should aim for those plains over there, since they're fairly flat and look safe..." Nodding, Elsword hoisted Raven over his shoulder with a grunt, opening up a hatch in the side of the ship, followed by an extremely nervous Aisha, Rena looking no calmer. Aisha took a deep breath. "I guess we should jump now..." Nodding, Elsword nervously leaned over the edge of the ship, jumping out.

The air whistled past Elsword as he descended, his hair whipping around, threatening to pull it out of his ponytail. Maybe he should get it trimmed soon, since it was getting long... Now wasn't the time to think about trivial things like that. Reaching around Raven, he reached the string and pulled it, praying to the Lady El that it would open. When he heard the whoosh, he let out a sigh of relief, glancing to both sides, seeing that both Rena and Aisha were okay, although Aisha was extremely pale. Rena made a few rushed motions, but Elsword couldn't understand them.

"What? Rena, I don't understand your sign language!"

"So, her name is Rena?" Yelping, Elsword looked up, coming face-to-face with golden eyes that gleamed with annoyance. "Brat, what are we doing, parachuting out here? Better yet, why are you carrying me?" Raven scowled, waiting for Elsword to reply. Rena's eyes hardened, as she began to yell something, but her words were unheard, the whipping wind drowning them out. Raven sighed. "I'm not going to kill you, kid. Can you just answer my question? I don't have a clue as to what's going on. It feels like I have no memories of the past few years..."

Elsword grinned impishly. "That's probably because you don't have any memories from the past few years. Tell me, what do you think of when you hear this name. 'Black Crow.'" Raven frowned, knitting his eyebrows together.

"A crow. Aren't all crows black, though? Oh, and kid..." Elsword raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"The ground's approaching kinda fast, don't you think?" Elsword cursed, seeing that the ground was getting closer to them, and even though the parachute was slowing their descent, since their combined weight was more than either Rena or Aisha, they were going fairly fast. Raven chuckled, watching Elsword's dilemma. "I think I can help you, using this accursed arm of mine..." Elsword's eyes widened, as he craned to gape at Raven.

"You can remember that you have a robotic arm?!" Raven nodded, his eyes darkening.

"I remember getting it, and escaping from the people who gave it to me, but after that... Absolutely nothing. Anyway, do you want me to help you or not?" Elsword nodded, at loss for words. Extending his left hand, Raven spread apart his claw like fingers, grumbling slightly. A small, spiraling ball of flame and smoke started to form in the palm of his hand. Muttering under his breath, the ball grew bigger and bigger, acting as a cushion to slightly propel them upwards, further slowing their descent.

"Maximum Cannon." The ball of fire swelled until it was larger than Elsword himself, the heat radiating from it in waves.

Mouth agape, Elsword simply stared at the massive ball of fire that Raven was controlling offhandedly. Feet touching down on the ground, Elsword didn't hesitate to hurriedly let Raven down, scrambling away from him a little. "I-If you could use such power, how come you didn't use it to kill us before?!" Raven frowned.

"I tried to kill you?"

Elsword shook his head rapidly as Rena and Aisha touched down. "I didn't say anything."

* * *

Me: I know I've been MIA for this story, don't kill me please!

Eve: Why would they kill you?

Me: There are always crazy people out there... As some people know, I was on a couple other fanfic sites before, and the people on them kept threatening me to update OAO

Elgang: ...

Rena: W-Well, how about you just go blather on about some of your thoughts and/or life?

Me: Sounds good! I'm kinda busy with school shopping and stuff like that. Speaking of which... *evil aura*

Elsword: SCHOOL CAN'T BE THAT BAD! I MEAN, YEAH YOU HATE IT AND IT TAKES AWAY FROM PRECIOUS INTERNET TIME, BUT YOU NEED IT TO LEARN! D:''

Aisha: STOP YELLING!

Elsword: YOU STOP YELLING!

Eve: Giga Stream.

Elsword & Aisha: *flies off* WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAAIN!

Me: =_=;; Okay then...

Raven: School might be starting soon, but hey, you can slack off in class and write stuff.

Me: I can't...

Raven: Why?

Me: Because... The fine upbringing in me... It makes it impossible for me to be rude, impolite, or a bad student! I don't listen in class half the time, but I at least make it look like I am!

Raven: -.-

Me: REVIEWER RESPONSE TIME! :D

Asian - You couldn't review chapter 11? That's odd... Hopefully everything's fixed now! Hey, if you got hit by Aisha's staff while she was using Guillotine Press, I think you'd faint too. AISHA! GET HIM! *BtM Aisha chases Asian*

Ruby - Maybe... Okay I can't lie for my life YESH IT IS! *shot* Hopefully I'll get more reviews, but hey, I'm happy that I at least have some XD

Seoul - It's call Raven names day! Oh Rena, you made my Reven feels explode :P GO! GO PUNCH RAVEN! That would be funny to see, but then he'd get mad at you and chase you around... Elsa will be saved eventually... Yesh, they did advance, minus Raven, since he just joined the party (Oh gosh, that sounds like Pokemon, RAVEN has joined your party! XD) You had problems too? I hope it's fixed...

AishaElementalMaster - Umm... BtM's Elwiki page clearly states that she was given a pendant from her master which helped to channel her magic powers, leading to her super-concentrated magic energy balls. I'm not sure about EM, but I guess they have intertwining back stories? I dunno.

Me: On a side note, where's Chung?

Eve: He is in his chambers fixing his Destroyer since Ara accidentally knocked it off its rack, sending it crashing through the floors and ultimately ending with it being crushed under the ceiling beam.

Ara: I said I was sorry!

Me: Wait... When did this happen? Better yet, DID ANYONE FIX MY HOUSE?!

Ara: No...

Me: *Rage mode ACTIVATE* Ara... Eve... Rena... Raven... GET HERE YOU LITTLE #$% OR I WILL - *bonked over the head by Chung*

Chung: That was close. Anyway, don't forget to R&R!

Me: *wakes up* Love y'all! Chu~

Elgang: *runs while they can*

Me: *chases them with a chainsaw*


End file.
